CAYOM YEAR 3 - PART I - MOVIE SUBMISSION

[Rorschach]

The Counsel of the Dead

 

Director: Matt Reeves

Composer: Howard Shore

Genre: Fantasy Epic

Studio: Lager Pictures

Date: June 14th, Y3

Theater Count: 4,208

Format: 3D and IMAX 3D

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 154 minutes

Budget: $175 million

Previous Film Gross (OW/Dom/WW):

The Odyssey: The Spoils of War - $103,476,195/$353,489,130/$1,004,550,998

 

Cast:

Main Characters: Hugh Jackman (Odysseus), Kate Winslet (Penelope), Dacre Montgomery (Telemachus), Lena Headey (Athena), Ian McShane (Poseidon)

Secondary Characters: Julie Andrews (Eurycleia), Armand Assante (Laertes), Henry Cavill (Eurymachus), Sharlto Copley (Eurylochus), Hugh Dancy (Hermes), Rhys Darby (Polites), Luke Evans (Antinous), Isla Fisher (Circe), Charlie Hunnam (Amphinomus), Toby Kebbell (Young Laertes), Billy Magnussen (Achilles), Malcolm McDowell (Eumaeus),  James Purefoy (Alcinous), Iwan Rheon (Anticlus), Tim Roth (Agamemnon), Bill Skarsgard (Sinon), Jim Sturgess (Elpenor) and Brad Dourif (Tiresias)

Uncredited:

Spoiler

Janelle Monáe as Calypso

 

Plot:

Spoiler

Black screen

 

A whisper pierces the darkness:

 

“Odysseus”

 

The film opens up on a long shot behind a sleeping Odysseus. It is on the cliff that he was at the end of the first film. The camera slowly creeps toward him as the voices multiply and get increasingly louder. The voices are many but are hard to make out.

 

“You’re pathetic”

“I hate you”

“You led us to die”

“I hope the gods make your suffering eternal”

“Selfish bastard”

"Some leader"

"I trusted you"

"Help me, please!"

“Your arrogance defines you…”

“I’m waiting for you”

 

Other voices sound off derogatory comments but all silence when we hear Laertes’ voice.

 

“You’re a disappointment”

 

We flashcut to the dream Odysseus is having. A younger version of him is holding a bow and arrow, crying as his father stares him down angrily.

 

Laertes: “If you can't kill a worthless hog, how do you expect to survive when you’re facing down another man?”

Odysseus: “Dad, I…”

 

Odysseus is cut off when his dad slaps him across the face. Odysseus struggles to hold back his tears, dropping to his knees. Laertes pulls his son to him aggressively.

 

Laertes: “I expect more from you.”

 

Laertes releases Odysseus from his grip. He orders Odysseus to pick up his shit and come with him back to Ithaca.

 

Laertes: “Hopefully tomorrow you’ll be a man and actually finish what you started.”

 

Laertes turns his back to his son and storms off. We linger for a few seconds on Odysseus as he wipes his tears away and grabs his arrow. The voices grow in intensity as his surroundings become shadowed in darkness. Suddenly, a hand grabs him from behind.

 

We cut to Odysseus jumping up awake to face… King Alcinous. The king jumps back startled by Odysseus’ sudden awakening. Both men breath heavily.

 

Alcinous: (chuckling) You scared me!

Odysseus: That makes two of us.

Alcinous: You’ve been gone for a quite a while. Everyone’s was worried about you.

Odysseus: I guess I let time get the best of me.

 

Odysseus stands up to face Alcinous.

 

Odysseus: I’m ready to continue my story.

Alcinous: Most of my people have already turned in for the night.

Odysseus: Oh… I’m sorry.

Alcinous: (placing a hand on Odysseus’ shoulder) There's no need to apologize. I think they understand that you’ve had a rough journey as is. They hope that you get better.

Odysseus: I appreciate that… but I would like to continue.

Alcinous: Of course. There are still a few people remaining in the main hall. They held out in the hopes that you would wake eventually.

Odysseus: In that case, I’m ready.

 

Alcinous leads Odysseus back to the main hall. As Alcinous had said, there are only a handful of people remaining. Odysseus takes his place back in his seat. He looks out to address the group.

 

Odysseus: I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. I guess I let my emotions get the better of me… again.

 

We hear the whispers from before, quiet but pronounced. Odysseus closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to compose himself. As he exhales, the voices suddenly stop. He opens his eyes and proceeds to speak.

 

Odysseus: After the storm had passed, we sailed for several weeks on end, not sure where we were heading. Not sure of what more suffering was to come.

 

The camera cuts to a distant bird’s pov of the three ships. They are isolated amongst the vast, empty sea. Cut to a disheveled Odysseus sitting at the front of his ship. He is looking out into the horizon, deep in thought. His eyes are red and he looks distraught.

 

Odysseus (voice-over): For those several weeks, I was so deep in my thoughts that the world around me seemed to fly by. Thoughts of anger, rage, doubt, regret, and ultimately sadness. Rinse and repeat. So close yet so far.

 

Sinon and Polites observe Odysseus from behind, both visibly concerned. Sinon grabs a piece of bread and walks over to Odysseus. He tells Odysseus that it is necessary for him to keep up his strength. Odysseus grumbles that he is fine. Sinon sternly tells Odysseus that he will not put up with seeing him in this depressive state anymore.

 

Sinon: I know what happened was difficult for you to deal with. It's been hard on all of us, including me… but we can’t let that get to us anymore. We need to move forward. You need to eat! For your sake, for the sake of everyone on these ships.

 

Odysseus looks around at his men. They all stare back at him. One shot lingers on Eurylochus who lowers his eyes, trying to avoid eye contact. Odysseus relents and grabs the piece of bread. He takes a huge bite out of it, much to Sinon and Polites’ relief. Polites jokes that Odysseus better slow down or he might end becoming fatter than him. The three men share a chuckle. Sinon reassures Odysseus to not dwell on his past but to move forward. Odysseus gives a smile and a silent nod to him.

 

Suddenly, a voice comes up from a top of the ship’s mass: “Land! I see land!” Odysseus and his men look up to Anticlus above. They then look out in the horizon and see an island in the distance ahead. The men in all three ships rejoice as they embrace one another in celebration. We see a wide shot of the three ships and the men celebrating as the title card appears.

 

The Odyssey

The Counsel of the Dead

 

We hard cut to the ships now approaching the island. The entrance to the place is surrounded by two tall cliffs on both sides. Behind the two cliffs is a empty, peaceful harbor. Odysseus orders the captains on the other two ships to enter before his does. The men in the other two ships proceed ahead into the harbor. Odysseus examines both cliffs. Polites asks him what is wrong. Odysseus tells him that he wants their ship to hang back just in case things get bad. Polites questions why he would feel the need to do so. Odysseus says he can’t explain why but he feels that something is off. Polites concurs and orders the men to moor the ship along the entrance of the passage. Odysseus once again eyes both cliffs suspiciously.

 

Meanwhile, the two other ships make landing on the shore. The men on both boats discuss what their best course of action should be. Noticing smoke ahead, one of the captains recommends that they send a few men to investigate it. After a bit of arguing, the men finally send out scouts to go and find the location of the smoke.

 

Cut to the men finally arriving near the location of the smoke. They find a village, a fairly large village. The men are captured by how big everything around them is when a giant figure approaches them. It is a woman. A 25 foot tall woman. She asks the men who they are. One of the men nervously speaks up, telling her that they are in a fleet of three ships and were looking for a place to rest. In return, the soldier asks her if she can take him and his fellow scouts to the leader of the place. She agrees and asks them to follow her. The two other men look at each other and hesitantly follow.

 

A while later, back on Odysseus’s ship, the men wait around for a signal of some kind from the other ships. Several of the men converse with each other, others play games to pass the time, Sinon sharpens his battle axe, Polites naps, Odysseus ponders to himself, etc.

 

Suddenly, we see one of the scouts from before running out in the distance. He is shouting back at the ships but none of the men can make out what he is saying. As he gets closer, the men can make out what the soldier is saying.

 

“Giants! Giants! Get the ships out of here! There are-”

 

Out of nowhere, a spear penetrates the body of the soldier. He grunts and stumbles before collapsing to his knees and falling over. The men in the ships stand up, shocked and alert after what just happened. Out of the forest thicket, an armada of several giant men come charging out, with spears and other weapons at their disposal. Odysseus orders the men to quickly untie the ship from the rocks. As the men on the ship begin to hurriedly untie the ship, Odysseus looks up at the cliffs as his jaws fall agape. From atop the cliffs, several giant men surround the harbor, brandishing huge rocks in their palms. Odysseus runs to the front of the ship and yells at the top of his lungs for the men in the other two ships to get out of there.

 

Back on one of the other ships, the men frantically cut the ropes to the shore as the ship begins to sail out into the harbor. The captain orders them to row for their lives. The giant men continue their charge. The ones in the front, in unison, throw their spears at the two ships. The spears land in and around the ship, penetrating several men. On the other ship, further ahead of the one on the shore, the men are panicking and are trying to row as fast as they can. One of the soldiers on the ship, Elpenor (Jim Sturgess), looks up to the cliff seeing the giant men with the rocks and frantically tries to tell the men to row faster. The giants on land lift their rocks up above their heads. Odysseus calls out to the men in the other ships but can only watch in horror as the giant men take aim and, on command, throw the behemoth rocks at the ship in unison. All sound is sucked out of the film as we see the rocks falling/several different reactions from the men on all of the ships and on Elpenor who breaks the silence telling the men to abandon ship. He dives out of the ship in the nick of time.

 

The rocks all penetrate the ship in the middle of the harbor, edited in a rapidly cut pace. Men go flying into the water, some are crushed by the multiple rocks, and the ship is essentially demolished. The men in the ship behind watch in horror as they correct they course correct around the demolished, sinking ship.

 

We cut back to Elpenor in the water as we see him swimming for his life towards Odysseus’ ship (Everything in this paragraph is all done in one continuous shot). The scene shows him swimming past the wreckage of the ship and the dead bodies of his fellow men. Several other men are in the water as well all trying to keep afloat. From atop the cliffs, we see a batch of spears coming down, this time with rope attached to them. Elpenor watches as the arrows come down upon him and the men, hitting everyone around him. He continues to swim towards the ship as the wounded men are reeled in and dangle above him. The penetrated ones that are still alive cry out for help as they are lifted into the air. Elpenor and a few others keep swimming towards Odysseus’ ship. From behind them, the men on the ship still left in the harbor continue to row. A few on the ship desperately cry out to the men in the water to swim towards the ship. Elpenor looks up again to see another batch of rocks falling from the sky. The men in the ship scream as some abandon ship while others are demolished by the rocks. Elpenor swims faster than ever as the men around him continue to be pelted by spears. One by one, they are all taken out until Elpenor is the only one that remains. He calls out to Odysseus’ ship as the men onboard take notice of him and offer their hands out to him as spears continue to be thrown at him. Just before a spear penetrates him he grabs onto Odysseus's hand and is pulled in.

 

Elpenor, out of breath, collapses onto the floor of the ship as a few men tend to him. The ship exits the harbor as the men continue to row hurriedly. Odysseus looks back at the carnage behind him as he hears the giants cheer in victory.

 

On one of the cliffs, we see the giants pulling up several bodies and a few men still alive. One of the soldiers, the captain of the second destroyed ship, cuts one of the giants with his sword and attempts to run towards the seaside, where Odysseus’s ship now is, calling out for help. Just before he can jump, he is snatched up by one of the giants. The giant laughs maniacally as he squeezes the captain in its hand, taking pleasure in the human’s pain. The captain pleads for mercy before being devoured by the smiling giant.

 

The camera cuts back to Odysseus’s ship, just before the giant takes a bite into the captain, as we see the men look back in horror. Eurylochus and Anitclus turn their backs in disgust while Sinon and Polites look on, petrified by the sight of the ongoing slaughter. Odysseus collapses to his knees and stares back. He closes his eyes as he tries to force back tears and anger. We see a wide overhead shot of the ship sailing into the sea as the sounds of the giants cheering in glee mix with the sound of Odysseus’s scream of anger and rage.

 

Cut to Ithaca. We see a peaceful establishing shot of the island. Cut to inside the city. We see Eurycleia and a few maids doing some housekeeping around the main plaza when Penelope approaches them. She asks if they have seen Telemachus at all. Eurycleia says she saw him heading to work in the fields earlier in the morning. Penelope travels to the fields to see Eumaeus. She questions him on whether or not he’s seen Telemachus. Eumaeus says he hasn’t seen him all day. Penelope sighs deeply, saying she has a feeling she knows where he might be.

 

Cut to the shoreline on the beach where we see young Telemachus practicing with Laertes in the middle of sword to sword combat with each other. During the fight, Laertes gives instructions to him on the basics of swordplay. Telemachus gains the upper hand in the fight, much to Laertes’ content. Penelope observes the fight from afar. Telemachus notices his mother in the background but in this distraction is swiftly knocked down by Laertes. The old man scolds Telemachus, telling him to never let his guard down in combat or else he’ll end up being fodder in the earth. Penelope approaches from behind telling Laertes that she would like to talk to with him privately. She orders Telemachus to go back to the city. Telemachus complains that they aren’t even finished yet. Penelope sternly tells him to go. Telemachus complies and walks away disappointed.

 

Penelope and Laertes begin to argue. Penelope expresses her anger towards Laertes for continuing to go behind her back and train Telemachus. Laertes chastises Penelope for what he sees as “coddling”. He states that Telemachus needs to have a father figure in his life that can mold him into a strong man.

 

Laertes: How do you expect him to rule on his own after you are long dead when he’s been confined to the life of a house maid?

Penelope: I’m not saying he shouldn’t know how to fight. If anything he needs to know how. I’m just sick of you constantly going against everything I say about to train him, as if my voice doesn’t really matter.

Laertes: As if you give the boy any time to train anyway. Are you even listening to yourself? The hypocrisy.

Penelope: I suppose you’d want to mold him in your own image as if he was YOUR own son wouldn’t you?

Laertes: How do you think your husband would respond if he knew the sort of parenting you were giving him? Hm?

(a long pause)

Penelope: I don’t know how he would respond but I know damn well he wouldn’t have let you be the father figure he needed instead of him.

Laertes: (scoffs) You seem so sure of yourself.

Penelope: I know so. Now, please let me raise my son as I wish. I don’t want to tell you again. Leave. Him. Be.

 

Laertes sighs and shrugs. Knowing he can’t do anything about it, he walks off only telling Penelope that the day Telemachus fails to live up to his kingly status, he’ll only have one person to blame. Penelope is left standing on the beach, pondering over his words.

 

Cut back to Odysseus and his men in the ship. A few days have past since the massacre with the giants and the crew have remained awfully silent. Those who aren’t rowing are not talkative with each other while Odysseus lays on his side, trying to fall asleep. Odysseus slips into a dream where we see a figure with a dark robe beckoning Odysseus into a dark cave. Odysseus walks into the cave where he is grabbed by a giant, bony hand. The dark figure’s voice echoes: “See you soon, my friend.” The voice laughs as its mouth opens and swallows Odysseus whole.

 

Odysseus awakes with a start. As he catches his breath, Polites tells him that they’ve spotted an island ahead. Odysseus looks into the distance to see a peaceful green island. He gives a sigh of relief.

 

The men make landing on the island. They get off and set up camp along the shore. While they are preparing camp, Eurylochus calls Odysseus out in front of everyone. He questions Odysseus over why it's taking them so long to get home. Odysseus dryly tells him that he should probably know that by now (referring to Aeolus’s bag of wind). Eurylochus says that he suspects something else is up. He mentions the cloud of mist and Poseidon’s storm, saying that he feels they weren’t by pure coincidence. Sinon interrupts, telling Eurylochus to back down. Odysseus tells Eurylochus and the rest of the men that he wishes not to discuss this right now. Eurylochus gets up in his face demanding that Odysseus tell the truth. Sinon breaks the two apart before a physical fight can happen. Odysseus angrily tells the men that while he may be partially at fault, they are largely the reason that they aren’t home yet. He expresses his disappointment in all of them and goes over to the shade to cool down while Eurylochus angrily walks the other way.

 

Anticlus states that they should probably find something to eat before it gets too dark. The men concur and prepare a hunting party. A few stay behind to watch over the camp including Sinon, Elpenor, and Odysseus. Elpenor stares off into the distance, still clearly traumatized by the event with the giants. Sinon expresses concern about this to Odysseus but is shrugged off (Odysseus still clearly upset). Sinon goes over to chat with Elpenor while Odysseus lays under his tree.

 

Athena appears next to him, sitting by his side. Odysseus questions her about if all the gods know about his quarrel with Poseidon. She laughs, saying that practically all the gods know about it. She says that there are some who support Poseidon, some that support Odysseus, and a few that are indifferent (Zeus falls into the indifferent category). Odysseus expresses his disdain for the situation, saying that it's really his fault for his current situation but he doesn’t know how to fix it. Athena assures him to keep a level head and to not let his emotions get the better of him. Before parting, she tells Odysseus that she supports him through and through. Odysseus smiles, taking comfort in her assurance. He finds his eyes getting heavy and falls asleep.

 

Odysseus is woken to the sound of his men shouting. He jumps up frantically to see what is the matter. He sees the men are chasing around a wild pig, trying to catch it but are unable to. Odysseus joins in the chase as the group continue to do circles around the campsite (the scene is pretty comedic with bits of the pig constantly outsmarting some of the men by running around sporadically).

 

Finally, the pig is caught and surrounded. Odysseus is about to plunge his knife into the pig when Eurylochus emerges from out of the forest telling them to stop. Odysseus and the men question why.

 

Eurylochus: Don’t kill that bloody pig!

Odysseus: (mocking) Why not?!

Eurylochus: I’m telling you don’t kill the pig!

Odysseus: What happened?! Where are the others?!

Eurylochus: They were captured! (catches his breath) This island is home to a witch! A witch I tell you! She turned the men into pigs! That right there is Polites!

(A short pause then the men all start laughing together)

Random soldier: Well it seems the witch evolved Polites into his natural form now didn’t she?

(The pig bites the soldier. He yelps in pain. The men laugh at him.)

Odysseus: (chuckling) Go on Eurylochus.

Eurylochus: This isn’t a joke I tell you! We were walking along the mountainside when he heard the sound of a woman singing. A sweet sound, unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. When we got closer, we found a palace, crawling with all sorts of animals. Lions, goats, sheep, pigs, you name it! She beckoned the men in with offers of food and drink.

Sinon: And I suppose you stayed behind?

Eurylochus: Yes and I’ve never felt so bad for it in my life! I looked from outside and I saw her give the men some sort of drink. Each man that took a sip turned into an animal before my own eyes! You have to believe me!

 

The men look to see Polites in his pig form crying. Odysseus realizes the weight of the situation and asks Eurylochus where he can find this palace. Eurylochus points to the tallest peak on the mountain. Odysseus tells the men to stay at the camp while he goes and confronts the witch. Simon tells him that it may be too dangerous to go alone. Odysseus tells Simon that if he doesn’t return by sunset, they must assume the worse and depart. He heads off into the wilderness while the men watch from the camp. The soldiers stand around awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

 

Random Soldier from before: Well, I’m definitely in the mood for some ham!

(Polites bites the man again)

Soldier: Ow! Fucking pig!

 

Cut to Odysseus making his way up the mountainside. He looks up to see what looks to be a palace on top of the mountain. He sighs to himself and questions when this suffering will end. A voice interrupts from behind, asking him if he’s looking for trouble again. Odysseus looks behind him to see a glowing man, shirtless with wings on his back. Odysseus recognizes the man as Hermes, the messenger of the gods. Odysseus asks Hermes what he is doing on the island.

 

Hermes: Well, a certain someone you know saw your predicament from above and told me to tell you some very useful information. Trust me, you’re gonna need it!

Odysseus: I’m listening.

Hermes: (begins picking at a tree with some herbs on it): This island is home to a very powerful immortal, Circe. She has enslaved your men by turning them into animals. If you wish to avoid the same fate as your men, you must eat these herbs in my hand.

 

Hermes hands Odysseus the herbs. Odysseus stares at them.

 

Hermes: By eating these, you will be able to avoid falling under her spell. This will catch her off guard. When this happens, you must draw your sword and threaten her to release your men. When she does, she will try to seduce you into her bed. You MUST comply. It is foolish to refuse such offers by immortal women.

Odysseus: (confused) I, I can’t do this. Not to myself. Not to Penelope.

Hermes: (looks dumbfounded) Are you serious man? You cannot refuse an immortal! I don’t know this Penelope too well but don’t you think a dire situation like this would require some drastic measures?! The lives of your men are at stake here!

Odysseus: Would you do this if you had the choice to?

Hermes: (smirks) Well I don’t know. Circe’s not really my type but- (cuts himself off) Oh for crying out loud just eat the damn herbs already!

 

Odysseus reluctantly eats the herbs much to Hermes’s satisfaction. Hermes wishes Odysseus luck as he flies off into the heavens above. Odysseus continues his walk up the mountain. When he reaches the top, he finds a grand palace in front of him with wildlife all around the place. At the entrance, he sees a woman in a white gown standing there, as if she has been waiting for him. She signals him to come in.

 

The woman introduces herself as Circe and welcomes Odysseus to her humbled abode. She orders her maids to prepare a glass of wine for their guest. Odysseus looks around to see animals of all different kinds around the palace. Lions, Jaguars, Sheep, Chimps, Goats, Pigs, etc. Circe offers Odysseus a chair to sit in. The two settle in their chairs as one of the maids gives Odysseus the wine. Circe beckons Odysseus to take a sip of the wine. Confidently, he drinks the whole cup down much to Circe’s shock. Odysseus jokes sarcastically that the wine tastes a bit funky. Circe falls to her knees, not knowing how to respond. Odysseus draws his sword and holds it up to her neck. He orders her to release his men from their animal states. Circe smiles, saying that she has been waiting forever for a man of his stature to come to her island. She offers Odysseus to come to bed with her. Odysseus makes her promise to release the men from her spell. She complies and the two make their way towards her quarters. 

 

Outside, we see the remaining crew outside the palace doors, waiting to barge in. Eurylochus tells the men they will give the witch no mercy. Sinon expresses his worry for Odysseus’s sake. Eurylochus assures him that they will save all of the men in there when they kill the witch. The men ready themselves and bust down the door. They enter making tons of commotion only to find that all of the men who were turned into animals are now back in their human forms. The men rejoice with each other. Sinon asks where Odysseus is. Anticlus tells him that they saw him enter Circe’s quarters. The men all snicker amongst each other as Circe’s maids offer themselves up to the men. We get a few moments of interaction as the men woo the many maids (Eurylochus flirts with a few of them, Polites doesn’t know how to react, Sinon slicks his hair back much to the laughter of two maids). The men wind down in Circe’s quarters as they enjoy themselves with the pleasures of the palace. Odysseus and Circe hear the men outside. He asks if they’ll be taken care of. She tells him that her maids are very well-kept to do so. Circe begins to passionately kiss Odysseus along his body. We see Odysseus’s face turn from a face of relief to a long stare into the camera as he internalizes the events that have taken place. He sighs deeply.

 

Cut to a shot of Ithaca, early morning. Cut to Penelope’s quarters where we see Penelope sleeping in her bed. We see a shot of her laying on her right side. From her back, we see Odysseus come from behind her. He leans his head on top of her shoulder. He says that he wishes the night would go longer so he could just stay in bed with Penelope forever. She smiles, telling him that she just wishes they could just be together again. The two share a smile as they kiss each other.

 

Odysseus: I’m never too far from you. Even far away, I still feel close to you

Penelope: (voice choking a little) When are you coming home?

Odysseus: (smiling) Soon my dear. Soon.

 

The word ‘soon’ echoes as Penelope wakes up from her bed. She stares off for a few seconds before looking over to the left side of the bed, empty and untouched. We hold on her as her face turns from joy to sadness.

We jump to later in the morning. We see Penelope up and about, assisting the maids. She walks to Telemachus’s quarters to check and see if he’s still sleeping. She opens to find Telemachus (now played by Dacre Montgomery) trying to string a bow. Penelope asks him what he thinks he’s doing. Telemachus states that he is going hunting. Penelope stops him saying that he promised to help out today. Telemachus argues that she has said the exact same thing for the past few weeks and says that she promised him to let him go hunting at least once this week. He tells her that he promises to help her out for as many more weeks as she wants if he lets her go hunting this once. Penelope ponders for a few seconds and tells Telemachus to come with her. She wants to show him something

 

They walk to Odysseus’s throne room where she points Telemachus’s attention to a black bow hanging over the fireplace. She tells Telemachus that the bow was the bow his father used to hunt and Laertes before him. She takes it down from its handle and trades bows with Telemachus. She tells him that if he can string it, he can hunt. Telemachus does a double take, shocked at his mother’s offering. He smiles and thanks her for the bow. Just then, a man bursts into the room informing the two that there a group of men waiting inside the city courtyard waiting to greet you. Penelope and Telemachus look at each other, confused. They follow the man outside.

 

When they reach the city courtyard, they are greeted by a huge group of men. A couple hundred or so are all stacked in the courtyard. As Penelope approaches, the loud conversing amongst the men begins to die down as they all eye her (Telemachus follows behind her, watching the men uneasily). One man steps out from amongst the men. He signals for the other men to bow as he gets down on one knee.

 

The Man: Great Penelope, what an honor it is to be in your presence. I find myself caught up in such beauty that I find it hard to put words together.

Penelope: … The honor is mine, I suppose. Might I ask your name?

The Man: (smiling) I am Lord Eurymachus and these here are my… friends if I can put it that way, yes. We have come a long way to see you my grace.

Penelope: And why is that?

Eurymachus: You don’t know? M’lady, I’m sure you’re well aware that your husband, the great Odysseus, has been gone from Ithaca for nearly 16 sixteen years. Everyone else from the great war has returned to their homes… but not him. No one knows where he is. He could be dead, most likely…. or perhaps, (a smile slowly begins to grow on his face) he doesn’t want to come back.

Penelope: (annoyed) What are trying to get to, Lord Eurymachus?

Eurymachus: M’lady, you’ve been ruling this great city for so long by yourself. I must say, you’ve done a good job so far… but at some point, don’t you think a king by your side could make everything feel so much easier?

Telemachus: (realizing what the man is trying to say) That’s for her to decide! Not you, sir!

Eurymachus: Hmmm, and who is this fine, young man here?

Penelope: Lord Eurymachus, this is my son, Telemachus. Telemachus…

Eurymachus: (bowing) I’m very honored to meet you, Telemachus.

Telemachus: (coldly) The pleasure is mine.

Eurymachus: (standing back up) Of course, how could I forget. The many gifts we’ve all brought for you.

 

The crowd of suitors begin to approach Penelope with offers of gifts. We are introduced to another two of the suitors, Antinous (Yes, Cavill has a moustache in this film in case you were wondering ;)), who offers up a gift to her (We also see a couple of Ithacan women eyeing him and him reciprocating back), and Amphinomus, who acts incredibly humble/shy when presenting his gift to Penelope (the latter thanks him, the only suitor she genuinely thanks for the gifts presented to her).

 

The offering is interrupted when Laertes demands to know who all these men are. We see he is much older and his physical health seems to have deteriorated quite a bit. Eurymachus introduces himself and explains what he and the men are doing here. Laertes grows aggressive saying that as long as his bloodline lives, he will not allow any outsiders to rule his kingdom. The suitors all laugh, echoing throughout the courtyard. Eurymachus tries to reason with the old man, saying that no one knows where Odysseus may be. He could be dead or he may not have chosen to return home. Laertes gets upset when he says this and punches Eurymachus in the jaw. The men all reach for their swords but Eurymachus orders them to stand down. He gets up close to Laertes, telling him that it may be hard for him to understand but the customs of the land say that Penelope must remarry. Laertes spits in his face. Eurymachus wipes the spit away from his face, now visibly livid.

 

Eurymachus: I’ve tried to be patient with you old man but that’s gone and away now. (He raises his fist up as Laertes backs away. Telemachus jumps in between the two men.)

Telemachus: You will not harm him! You nor any other man in your company. I suggest you learn your place, outsider.

Penelope: That’s enough all of you!

(The men all turn to face her.)

Penelope: I appreciate your offerings (not genuine) and the law does state I welcome you as guests in our abode but I will not tolerate violence against any of my people. Do you men understand that?

 

A collective agreement sounds throughout the crowd. She looks at Telemachus, Eurymachus, and Laertes. The former storms off, angry. Eurymachus turns back to Laertes and offers a sly smile. Laertes stands petrified, seemingly shaken as the camera holds on him for a few seconds.

 

We jump to later in the day where we see Penelope and Telemachus engage in a heated argument. He expresses his hatred towards them, citing Eurymachus wanting to beat Laertes. Penelope says the customs decree she let the men in as guests and accept their offerings. She tells him that his father would’ve done the same and that he should too. Telemachus refuses, saying that this feels all sorts of wrong. Penelope tells him that even if he won’t, she will abide by the ancient customs, that she promised Odysseus she would. Telemachus angrily tells her that he will never accept any of the men as a replacement for his father. Penelope snaps saying that it is fact and he will have to accept it. Tearfully, she tells him that not a day goes by that she awaits him to come home, that she still clings onto the hope that he is still alive. Telemachus coldly states that he will not accept any of them as a replacement of his father so long as he lives and walks off, leaving Penelope to cry by herself in her quarters. We see Laertes outside the door, showing he has been listening the whole time. A few tears stream down his eyes. Penelope regains her composure and looks outside her balcony to the sea. She wonders aloud where he (Odysseus) could possibly be.

 

Cut back to Circe’s island. We see inside the hall that all the men are sitting around, relaxed, enjoying the pleasures the palace has to offer. We see a couple of the individual men fighting not to fall asleep. Eurylochus is enjoying the company of two maids, Sinon somehow finds himself surrounded by four (Eurylochus asks how he managed to do so to which Sinon gives a shrug), and Polites enjoys eating grapes while a maid holds them above his head. We also see Elpenor, hidden behind a chair at a far side of the palace drinking a bottle of wine by himself. He mutters random phrases drunkenly to himself (we also see a couple other empty wine bottles surrounding him).

 

Elsewhere in the palace, Odysseus awakens from a long nap and is greeted by Circe by his side. She kisses him passionately, pushing herself up against him. Odysseus asks how a woman such as herself chooses to isolate herself on this one island. Circe answers saying she wishes not to trouble herself with the problems of the men. She states her content in isolation, saying she has all she needs on this island. She embraces Odysseus, asking him to stay on the island with her. He could stay immortal forever and forget about his troubles with Poseidon and everything else. Odysseus says he wishes he could forget about all of his problems but that he made a promise long ago that he wishes not to break. Circe says she understands but rather coldly. Odysseus says he’s already been gone too long and five days on her island hasn’t helped his quest. Circe sits up when she hears this, giving Odysseus a quizzical look.

 

Circe: Five days? You think it’s only been five days?

Odysseus: Yes. Has it not been five days since I made landing on this island?

Circe: (shaking her head) You mortals have a lot to learn. I control the time on this island. I make it go as fast or as slow as I wish. One day here is the equivalent of a year for the rest of the world.

Odysseus: (perking up) What are you saying?

Circe: Five years Odysseus. Five years have past in the outside world since you’ve stepped foot in this palace.

Odysseus: You’re lying!

Circe: Go check and see if you ship has been buried by the receding tides and tell me yourself if five years have passed or not.

 

Odysseus runs out of the palace and back to the bay. He is shocked and horrified to see his ship buried underneath a pile of rubble. He runs up to it and begins digging frantically. This goes on for about half a minute before he gives up and screams in agony. From afar, we see Poseidon patrolling the seas. He picks up on the sound of Odysseus’s scream and smiles gleefully. Back to Odysseus, we see him collapse to onto his hands and knees, having exhausted himself.

 

Cut to Odysseus walking back into the palace. He angrily wakes up all of his men from their relaxed states, frightening the men and the maids. He explains the situation to all of them. The men are all dumbfounded by it. Odysseus draws his sword and points it towards Circe, the latter unflinching. She dares him to put it through, to see if that gets him any favors amongst the gods. Odysseus puts his sword down in defeat but demands that Circe tell him what he must do to get back to Ithaca safely.

 

Circe: If you desire to go back home without the interference of Poseidon, you must listen to my advice. The one you seek to show you the way would be the prophet Tiresias. He will tell you how.

 

Odysseus: Impossible! The prophet’s been dead for hundreds of years.

Circe: So certain are you? He may be dead but you will still be able to communicate with him.

Odysseus: You don’t mean…

Circe: Yes. You and your men must go to the Land of the Dead.

Odysseus: But how?

Circe: When you and your men leave, let your sails down and the north wind will carry you there. There will be a cave in which you will enter. When you get you must sacrifice a goat. The blood will draw the dead to you but don’t let any of them drink it. Only Tiresias can drink from it. He will ask for a request and he shall give it to you. From then on, I’m not sure where your journey will take you to.

 

Odysseus and his men gather their belongings, along with some provisions (including a goat) and proceed to file out of the palace. Before leaving, Odysseus and Circe share one final talk. Odysseus tries to apologize for acting so harsh towards her and thanks her for helping him out. Circe coldly tells him that he is making a mistake by leaving, saying that a worse fate may be awaiting him soon. Odysseus flatly says that it is a risk he is willing to take before exiting the palace. Circe watches as he walks away before slumping down into throne room chair and shedding a single tear.

 

As the men leave the palace, we see Elpenor 6stumble behind them. He talks incoherently and stumbles about, clearly hungover. In his drunken stupor, the men do not notice him and walk off. Elpenor stumbles over to the edge, losing his vision and sight. He loses consciousness and falls over the edge to the rocks below.

 

Odysseus and his men spend a day or so digging the ship out of the ground. Once they accomplish that, the men set their sails and allow the northern winds to take hold.

 

Odysseus (voice-over): Five years. Five years had gone right passed us without our knowledge. Another five years of misery and aching for Penelope. Another five years of Telemachus not being able to reunite with his father. At the time, I never knew how grave the situation back in Ithaca was. If I had, I would’ve never stopped trying to get back.

 

We cut to a really intense fight going on between Amphinomus and a random suitor in the middle of the courtyard. Other suitors surround the two men fighting, watching with high excitement. Eurymachus and Antinous sit comfortably in seats as they get a full view of the fight. Antinous tells Eurymachus that the idea to start up a fighting tournament for entertainment was an inspired choice on his part. Eurymachus tells Antinous to stop kissing ass, to which Antinous apologizes. As the fight continues, the two try placing their bets on who will win, with Eurymachus betting that Amphinomus has this in the bag while Antinous calls him crazy saying that the other guy will win. Changing the conversation, the two discuss Penelope. Eurymachus tells Antinous that the two of them should work together to best the other suitors, saying that they are “objectively” the best looking of the bunch, to which Antinous slyly concurs. Antinous states, however, that she seems to be a little hesitant towards their advances. Eurymachus agrees but assures Antinous that she’ll come to her senses at some point. Antinous asks about Telemachus and if they should consider him a potential threat. Eurymachus tells Antinous that Telemachus can be his problem to fix as he does not wish waste thought or mind on him. He does say, however, that the sooner they can eliminate him as an obstruction between them and the throne, the better. The two share a chuckle as Amphinomus knocks out the other suitor. The crowd goes wild.

 

Antinous: Well shit, there goes all my coins. (pushes them over to Eurymachus) I guess you do know what’s best.

Eurymachus: Of course I do.

 

Eurymachus goes to raise Amphinomus’s arm in the air, further riling up the men. Eurymachus tells Amphinomus that he is a fine warrior, to which the latter thanks him modestly. Amphinomus states that he’s just lucky to have won. Eurymachus, raising an eyebrow, tells him that a man of his physical stature shouldn’t be so modest on himself. Amphinomus says that he has no reason to boast to which Eurymachus tells him that being modest won’t get him to the throne. Amphinomus shrugs. “Maybe”. He walks off to clean up as Eurymachus eyes him.

 

Elsewhere, Penelope has trouble sleeping over the racket caused by the suitors outside. She tosses and turns trying to find a place to rest but can’t. She imagines back to a time where her and Odysseus took a walk along the mountainside. The flashback shows a montage of them playing around, etc., then culminating with a kiss atop a cliff. The flashback is interrupted when her door is suddenly swung upon. She lurches forward, startled. The person turns out to be Telemachus. He frantically tells her that Laertes has snapped and is threatening to jump off a cliffside.

 

Cut to the mountainside where we see Laertes walking on a path. He reaches a cliff, the same on Odysseus held baby Telemachus in the first film, and stands next to the edge. He stops right next to the edge, looking down towards the rocks below. His breathing is heavy and he looks even frailer than before. We hear off in the distance Telemachus yelling out his name and Penelope following suit. Laertes takes a deep breath, inching his way forwards to the cliff, each breath getting heavier. Telemachus and Penelope finally reach him, telling him to stop. Laertes turns around to address them. Tearfully, he tells them that he has no place in this world anymore. Telemachus, crying hard, tells him that’s not true. Laertes tearfully reminisces that he knows that he is not wanted anymore. The suitors presence is a daily reminder that his time on this earth and his heritage are running short. He cannot bear to witness an outsider take over the throne in his son’s place. Penelope, also crying, tells him that’s not true. She tells him that Odysseus is still alive, that she feels it in her heart that he is still out there, making his way home. Laertes tells her that if that were true, he should’ve been home by now. He says that he expects the worse has probably happened and that he wishes to join his son in the afterlife. Penelope tells him not to do this. As she takes a step forward, he takes a step back. Laertes tells her that there is nothing she can do to change his mind. Defeated, Penelope collapses to her knees crying, Telemachus by her side. Laertes tells her that of all the woman Odysseus chose as his mate, he is glad that he picked her, saying that she has an unwavering spirit and loyalty that most others do not have. Addressing Telemachus, Laertes tells him to remember their training and to never let anyone tell him that he can’t do anything. With that, he wishes the two of them well, leans back, and falls into the sea below. Penelope and Telemachus wail out as the two embrace each other in mourning. The scene ends with the camera panning out on the cliff as their wails are masked by the sound of the sea.

 

We cut to Odysseus’s ship. As Circe has told them, the northern winds carry their sails forward as the men row. Sinon and Polites converse with each other as they row, wondering what might be in the land of the dead that they may need. Polites speculates that they may be looking for someone that could tell them the way home. Sinon agrees. He also asks Polites if he has seen Elpenor, noticing he is not among the other rowers. Polites wonders if they left him on the island. Eurylochus, overhearing the conversation, adds that Circe probably would’ve kicked him out if that was true, since they spent nearly a day trying to dig the ship out. He should’ve joined them if that was the case. The three wonder to themselves when Anticlus shouts out he sees something ahead.

 

The men all see a rock formation ahead of them. Odysseus orders the men to keep rowing. As they get closer, Odysseus makes out an entrance, one that looks alike to the one in his dream. He hears the same echoey voice calling his name and a look of nervousness crawls across his face. As they approach closer, the cave begins to change shape, the opening growing larger as the ship closes in on the entrance. The men gaze up in amazement as they pass underneath the entrances as the ship enters.

 

(Note: The entire sequence in the land of the dead is in black and white. The only thing that is colorized is the blood.)

 

As the ship continues down the waterway, we hear whispers coming up ahead, echoing throughout the cave. Odysseus tells the men to keep on rowing until they reach their destination. Anticlus asks how long that’ll be. Odysseus answers saying that he does not know. The light from the cave slowly disappears and the men are shrouded in a cloudy fog. The men look down in the water. They see some movement below the water as the whispers intensify. Odysseus tells them not to get to close to the water or they may be pulled in. One of the soldiers, the one that suggested cooking Polites when he was a pig, ignores this, getting a little too close to the water. Suddenly, a few bony arms pop out of the water, grabbing onto the man’s collar. A few more hands from the water grab the man. His seatmate grabs onto him trying not to let him fall in. Others run to help rocking the boat back and forth as the men and spirits fight over the man. Odysseus yells at them to stop rocking the boat. Despite their efforts, the man is pulled in by the spirits. Odysseus tells the men to keep rowing. Eurylochus yells that they can still save him but Odysseus blatantly tells the men that he is dead and that they’ll end up just like him if try to go back. The men look back over into the water. In a one-shot moment, we see the man underwater trying to fight off the spirits but his efforts prove meaningless as he grabbed by hundreds, thousands of spirits and is dragged down into the dark abyss below.

 

The ship continues on its course through the cave. Odysseus stands at the front of the ship, waiting to find the shoreline that Circe talked about. Finally the mist clears as the crew find themselves inside a huge open lake surrounded by mountains and lines of dead spirits walking aimlessly. The men look around in awe of the spectacle of hell. Odysseus points out the shore straight ahead of them and tells the men that will be where they make landing. The ship approaches the shore and hits with a start, causing some of the men to jerk forward a little. Odysseus jumps out and asks Sinon and Polites to bring the goat with them. The two carry the animal out of the boat to Odysseus. He tells them to dig a hole for the blood to drip into. Taking out his knife, Odysseus slits the goat’s throat (not shown on-screen obviously). The blood spills into the hole. When the blood spills enough, Odysseus and the two quickly set the carcass on fire, disposing of it. Polites asks what the sacrifice is for. Odysseus tells him that along with being a sacrifice to the gods, the smell of the blood will attract the dead to them, along with Tiresias.

 

A minute passes, a few spirits begin making their way over to their spot. Odysseus pulls his sword out and yells at the spirits to stay back, motioning Polites and Sinon to do the same. The three keep the spirits at bay. One of the spirits steps forward out of the crowd. Sinon recognizes the spirit as Elpenor. The three allow him to approach but tell him to stay back. Odysseus asks what happened to him. Elpenor answers saying the event with the Laestrygonians (the giants) had traumatized him so much that he resorted to drinking in Circe’s palace to wash out the thoughts of it, to no avail. When he heard the men leaving, his drunkenness caused him to stumble and fall off the mountain to his death. He apologizes, to which Odysseus tells him that the event had a great effect on all of the men and he can not fault him for it. Elpenor wishes Odysseus and his men well before disappearing into the crowd of the dead.

 

Cut back to the present time where Odysseus tells Alcinous and the few remaining Phaeacians left about the many different Greek figures they met during their time in the underworld. Alcinous asks curiously if he met any men who fought in Trojan War. Odysseus says that they did.

 

 

Back to the scene in the Underworld, Odysseus is shocked when King Agamemnon approaches him. Odysseus asks what he is doing here, since he didn’t die in the war. Agamemnon tells him that after the war, he returned home with a few concubines, which displeased his wife a lot. In the middle of the night, she cut his throat during his sleep. He asks Odysseus what he is doing in the underworld to which Odysseus replies he may have angered a very powerful god. Agamemnon laughs, telling Odysseus that they aren’t too different at all, that the world is out to get them both. The two share a small laugh before Agamemnon departs. Achilles approaches afterward to whom Odysseus praises unconditionally. Achilles tells him he’s flattered but didn’t come to hear Odysseus’s praises all day. He asks how his nephew, Prince Neoptolemus, did in battle. In a flashback to the war, we see Odysseus and Neoptolemus fighting alongside each other in the raid of Troy. Odysseus tells Achilles that the young Prince fought extremely well in battle, even taking out the royal family. Achilles is pleased by this, walking away with a sense of pride.

 

Finally, a hooded old man approaches Odysseus. He does not recognize the old man, pointing his sword at him and telling him to stay back. The old man puts his hand up to stop Odysseus. He kneels down and takes a drink of the blood. Odysseus realizes the man must be Tiresias. After drinking, the old man stands up, blood dripping off his long beard, and asks Odysseus what brings him to the underworld. Odysseus kneels along with Polites and Sinon. Odysseus tells the old man that he wishes to seek his counsel, to safety return to Ithaca. Tiresias snickers.

 

Tiresias: It seems the whole world’s out get you, aye? (He laughs with a toothy grin, showing some missing teeth)

Odysseus: Indeed. Great prophet, all I ask for is what I must do to evade Poseidon’s wrath long enough so my men and I can return home safely.

Tiresias: Heed my words mortal man. If you don't tame yourself and your men, you will all meet your graves at the bottom of the great sea.

 

Odysseus looks back at the ship. The men seem to be crowded around Eurylochus who is whispering something to them. Tiresias also tells him that he and his men must make a great sacrifice to Poseidon in order for the god to finally leave him be. Odysseus nods, listening intently. Tiresias leaves Odysseus with one final warning that in his near future, he will die at sea, peacefully. Odysseus, finding the last statement a bit discomforting, thanks the prophet for his help. Before he returns to the crowd of spirits, Tiresias warns Odysseus that his time in the underworld is growing thin, saying the spirits are growing hungry for flesh, laughing maniacally before disappearing into the crowd of spirits.

 

Odysseus tells his men to prepare the ship to take off when a voice calls out to him from behind. Odysseus turns around and comes face to face with his father.

 

Laertes: My son! You’re still alive?! How can this be?

Odysseus: I have been fighting to go home father. It seems the gods have other plans for me. I might’ve angered one of them.

Laertes: Whatever may have happened, I’m glad to know you are still among the living. A left the world of the living a few days ago. Most everyone believes you are dead. I did too. Your wife and your son still cling onto hope you are still alive.

Odysseus: How are they?

Laertes: They are in good health. Your son has grown up to be a strong young man. While you have been gone, I helped him with his training. He has the potential to be a great king in his future.

Odysseus: (looking solemnly) Thank you for being there for him when I wasn’t.

Laertes: I know I would’ve been the last person you’d want to train him. I know you resent me for the way I treated you in your youth. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for all of those years. I wish I could take them back but I can’t. I wish I could.

Odysseus: Father, knowing you’ve helped set my son on a path destined for greatness is enough for forgiveness. I am forever grateful to have had a father like you.

Laertes: (tears stream down his face) Son…

 

The cave begins to rumble around them. The ground shakes beneath Odysseus’s feat. Sinon calls to Odysseus to get back in the boat.

 

Laertes: Your time in the underworld is growing short my son. Go before you join us in death.

Odysseus: I understand. I guess this is goodbye.

Laertes: Wait! You must hurry to Ithaca, Odysseus! A group of suitors wishes to take Penelope’s hand and rule over the throne! You mustn’t let them! For my sake! For her and Telemachus’s sake!

Odysseus: (pausing to take everything his father said in) I, I...

Laertes: Go!!!

 

Odysseus jumps onto the ship ordering the men to start rowing. They row to the middle of the lake as the spirits on the shore go berserk, craving for the blood of the men. The ship begins to rock back and forth violently as the skeletons in the water shake it. Odysseus tells the men to not stop rowing.

 

Back on shore, Laertes watches as his son’s ship disappears into the mist while the other spirits around him go crazy, crowding around the goats blood and

 

“Goodbye my son, till death reunites us again.”

 

Back on the ship, the men struggle to keep the ship going as the spirits begin to pull back on the ship, essentially creating a tug of war between them and the rowers. The men paddle with all their might but the spirits prove to be too strong for them. Realizing this, Polites stands up from his oar and walks over to the edge of the ship. He tells Odysseus that he will distract the spirits long enough for the ship to get out of the cave. Odysseus and Sinon beg him not too but Polites insists. Polites tells the two of them to take care and dives into the water. The spirits let go of the ship as the men continue to paddle. Odysseus and Sinon look back helpless as they see their friend being crowded around by spirits, dragging him underwater. The ship bursts out of the cave just before the entrance itself collapses. The men all reflect on what just happened as Odysseus tries to comfort a crying Sinon.

 

Back in Ithaca, we see the group of suitors again, continuing their Ancient Greek version of fight club. This time, Eurymachus is in the fight. The other man he faces is taller and more physically imposing but Eurymachus is more quick and agile. The fight ends with Eurymachus sucker punching the man in the jaw, causing the giant to lumber around then fall over. The men go crazy as they roar with applause and excitement.

 

Telemachus walks into the courtyard, calling out Eurymachus. The men silence themselves as they watch him intently. Telemachus tells the men that his grandfather is dead. Eurymachus pretends to feel sorry for Telemachus, telling him his condolences, but Telemachus sees right through it. Telemachus says he doesn’t know how or why but he thinks that Eurymachus or one of his other men had something to do with it. Eurymachus smiles, telling Telemachus to not his feelings get the best of him, that his grandfather was an old man who was in no shape to rule a city like Ithaca. He claims it must be a sign from the gods, a sign of change. This angers Telemachus who charges at him. Antinous steps in between the two. Telemachus runs into Antinous, falling back from the sudden impact.

 

 

Antinous tells the boy to learn his manners to which Telemachus spits in his face. Angered, Antinous raises his fist, about to punch Telemachus, before Amphinomus stops him. He tells the rest of the suitors that if the boy wishes to participate in the fight, they should let him. Beating him up outside of the ring will only cease their chances to appeal to Penelope, who he says would probably not appreciate her suitors beating the shit out of her only son. Eurymachus agrees, telling Telemachus that they have an open fight spot this evening. Telemachus hastily challenges him for a fight between just the two of them, to which the suitors all collectively laugh. Antinous steps in saying Eurymachus has already fought four times just this day, saying the man needs to rest. However, he willingly allows Telemachus the chance to face him in the ring. Telemachus pauses for a few moments, thinking it through. Realizing it’s the only option he really has, he agrees to the fight. The men howl with excitement, Eurymachus telling him their fight will promptly be after sunset.

 

Telemachus walks off, presumably to go prepare himself for the fight. Amphinomus watches Telemachus walk out with a concerned look in his face. Eurymachus waits till is out sight before going up to Antinous.

 

Eurymachus: Show the boy no mercy in the ring.

 

Antinous: I never do.

Eurymachus: But this time, I mean it. I don’t care if he’s Penelope’s only son. Beat him within an inch of his life. I want to show both of them that we don’t fool around.

Antinous: I can get behind that.

Eurymachus: I want him and his mother to know that we’re here to stay, one way or another.

 

Cut back to Odysseus and his men. We see they have landed on a small, desolate island. Odysseus and a few of his men are building what seems to be a rock monument of sorts. When they are finished, Odysseus calls upon the rest of his men to silently honor their fallen soldiers, from the ones in the Trojan war to Polites and Elpenor. The men all share a long moment of silence. Odysseus stakes an oar from the ship, with the names of the fallen soldiers carved into it onto the top of the rock monument. The men finish their long moment of silence and proceed to file back into the ship. They sail off the island.

 

We cut back to the monument, the camera holding on the oar. From behind it, Poseidon appears. He examines the monument and all the names etched into the oar. Athena appears behind him. She asks him why he continues to torture Odysseus and his men, considering all that he’s put them through already. Poseidon says he wishes to teach Odysseus a lesson, telling her about Odysseus’s plight with him on the rocks of Troy. He wants to show Odysseus that he is not a kind, not so easily forgiving god. Athena says he has a point but asks why he must bring Odysseus’s men into this grudge as well. He says they’re basically guilty by association, sighting them helping Odysseus in the murder of his son. Athena tells him that several years have past since that incident and that the big storm he created is quite enough punishment. Poseidon tells her that enough is never enough, grabbing the oar and crushing it with one hand. Athena chastises him for destroying a monument dedicated for the dead. Poseidon basically tells her he doesn’t give a shit and dives back into the sea. Athena silently hopes that Odysseus and his men can make a sacrifice to him soon.

 

Cut back to Ithaca. We see Telemachus in the fields having set up a sack for punching practice before the fight in the evening. He is approached by Eumaeus who tells him he should take it easy on himself so he doesn’t get exhausted before the big fight. Eumaeus asks if Penelope knows about the fight. Telemachus doesn’t answer, continuing on with his practice. Eumaeus forces him to stop and answer his question. Telemachus tells him she doesn’t. Eumaeus scolds him, saying he shouldn’t leave her in the dark about it, saying that she would never approve of it. Telemachus says that’s exactly why he didn’t tell her. He says that this is fight to finish. A voice behind him says that he should be weary of the other suitors. Spinning around, Telemachus finds Amphinomus behind him. Amphinomus tells Telemachus that he shouldn’t be too cocky when fighting Antinous. He’s bigger, stronger, and is not afraid to play dirty, showing Telemachus a couple scars going his back. Amphinomus explains that during one fight with Antinous, the exchange got so rough the two of them started clawing at each other. Antinous almost opened up his back just by digging his nails in him. Telemachus says that whatever happens, he will be ready for it. Amphinomus tells him to be careful saying that they won’t hesitate to beat him to a bloody pulp if they so feel like it. Amphinomus turns to leave but Telemachus stops him, asking why he stood up for him back in the courtyard.

 

Amphinomus tells Telemachus that he feels bad for both him and his mother. He says he knows how it feels for others waiting for a  loved one to come back, citing that he has a family of his own (a wife and two sons). He was forced away from his family by Eurymachus who had told him of an opportunity for someone to rule Ithaca, having forgotten a pledge he had made years before to do so. He misses them dearly, worrying about their safety, and can’t fathom the thought remarrying someone against his will, even someone as beautiful as Penelope. Telemachus offers his deepest apology to which Amphinomus accepts. He thanks Amphinomus for helping him. Amphinomus accepts this as well. He promises Telemachus that if Penelope does choose him, that he understands if Telemachus won’t accept it, and walks back in the direction he came. Telemachus shouts to him that out of all the suitors, he won’t mind it if he is chosen. Amphinomus offers a weak smile, turning back around.Eumaeus asks Telemachus if he’s really sure about still going through with this to which Telemachus responds, now more confidently than ever that he will.

 

Back on Odysseus’s ship, the men continue to row with the wind guiding their sails. Odysseus observes the horizon ahead. The sun is just but a few hours away from sunset. Athena appears next to him. Odysseus asks what she is doing on the ship. She informs him that an a small island ahead is infested with sirens. Odysseus, concerned, asks what he must do. She gives him a handful of beeswax. She tells him that every man on the ship must put in their ear if they are to avoid rowing to their deaths. She tells him that he wishes to hear the siren’s song, he must have the men tie him up to the ship’s mast. If he cries out for release, the men must pull tighter on the ropes that bind him. She wishes Odysseus luck before disappearing.

 

Odysseus tells the men that he has been given a premonition by the gods that an island of sirens lays ahead. He orders them to put the beeswax in their ears and to not stop rowing until they are safely ahead of the island. The men all concur, taking the beeswax. Odysseus asks for two of the men to tie him to the mast, which they do. As the men keep rowing, Odysseus hears in the distance the sound of song being sung by multiple women. The singing gradually gets louder as the ship passes by the island. Five beautiful women call out to Odysseus. We see the bones of human remains beneath their feet. The men on the ship all look at each other, terrified, as they row. The wailing sirens continues to crescendo as Odysseus begins to shake and tremble. He closes his eyes and lets out a scream that is muted by the sound of the sirens. Sinon pulls on Odysseus’s ropes harder, causing him to scream in more agony. The camera holds on Odysseus’s face until the sound of the sirens gradually dissipates into the distance. He opens his eyes to see nothing but the sea ahead. The men loosen his ropes and he collapses to the ground. Sinon rests him up against the side of the ship, telling the men to give him some space. The men return back to their oars. Eurylochus eyes Odysseus’s unconscious body from the back of the boat.

 

A few hours later, Odysseus awakes, groggily sitting up. Sinon tells him to take it easy, saying that the ordeal with the sirens really did a number on him mentally. Odysseus sits fully up and looks straight ahead. The sun is now setting on the horizon. Odysseus comments on how beautiful it looks to which Sinon agrees. Odysseus informs Sinon that a group of suitors will await them upon their arrival in Ithaca. He doesn’t know how ugly it might get when they find out they’re still alive. Sinon tells Odysseus a group of suitors pales in comparison to all of the other challenges they have faced along their journey. They may have lost some dear friends along the way but they are still fighting to get home. Whatever challenges lay ahead of them, they will continue to face them no matter what. Odysseus thanks Sinon for all the times he stuck by his side when no one else would. Sinon assures him that he knows, deep down, that he is a good person, regardless of what he may have done before. The two share a silent nod and go back to looking at the sunset.

 

Match-cut Odysseus looking at the sunset to Telemachus looking at the sunset. He stands in the balcony of his room, trying to mentally prepare himself for the fight. He remembers back to his childhood when Laertes taught him hand-to-hand combat. The memories bring a smile to his face which turns into a look of sadness. Realizing he is drifting again, he brings himself back to the present and practices breathing. He nearly exits his room only to be confronted by Penelope. She asks him what he was thinking challenging one of the men to a fight. Telemachus tells her this is none of her concern. Penelope angrily tells him it is, tearfully asking him why he continues to defy her like this. Eumaeus and Eurycleia appear behind her, both in support of what she tells him. Telemachus angrily accuses Eumaeus of snitching on him but Penelope defends him, saying he was only doing what he thought was right. Penelope begs with him not to do this but Telemachus says that the fight is happening one way or another and he will be held back anymore. He tells her that he’s no longer her little boy anymore, that she needs to let him go. The argument is interrupted when Amphinomus knocks at the door, informing Telemachus that the fight is ready to begin. Telemachus assures his mom that nothing bad will happen to him. Penelope begs with him not to go, telling him that he’s just as stubborn as his grandfather.

 

 

Telemachus: (shrugs) Maybe, but so what?

 

He walks past her with Amphinomus following at his side. Amphinomus asks Telemachus how he feels. Telemachus says he feels as though rage has been building up inside him all day. He says that it’s helping give motivation for the fight. Amphinomus tells him that hopefully it helps him during the fight, with a look of concern on his face. Telemachus agrees. In Telemachus’s room, we see Penelope hold her hand against her mouth as tears stream down her face.

 

 

Back on the ship, daylight grows incredibly slim as the light around the ship begins to fade. The men light torches to light up their path. We hear in the distance the sound of thunder as lightning bolts are shrouded by dark clouds. The camera pans on the face of Eurylochus as the film flashes back to the underworld. As Odysseus talks with Tiresias, Eurylochus brings the men together for a discussion. He tells the men that he is completely sick of the dangerous shit that Odysseus has been putting them all through, all because of his gripes with Poseidon. The men all agree, listing off their own grievances too. Eurylochus tells them that in order to stop this, they need to get rid of Odysseus. HE is the one Poseidon wants, not them. The men all silently agree with each other. Eurylochus, in the corner of his eye, notices Tiresias looking at him. He promptly puts his vision back in the huddle.

Back in the current time, Eurylochus makes eye contact with the other men. They all collectively nod and abandon their oars. Sinon asks what is going on. Anticlus and a few other men grab him and hold him back. Odysseus, having woken up from a nap, is confused at what’s going on. He sees all the men pointing their swords at him.

 

Eurylochus: Let’s have a chat, shall we?

 

 

Match-cut Odysseus’s look of shock and confusion with Telemachus’s face as him and Amphinomus make their way down the corridor. The sound of men chanting can be heard, echoing throughout the tunnel. He takes deep breaths to himself. They reach the courtyard where the chanting continues to build. The suitors create an opening for Telemachus to walk through. He hesitantly walks into the middle of the circle where he is greeted by a shirtless Antinous and a prideful Eurymachus.

 

Eurymachus: Great to see you didn’t pass off on the fight.

Telemachus: Why would I?

Antinous: Maybe because you’d be scared? (standing up next to Telemachus, trying to physically intimidate him) Or maybe your mother wouldn’t have wanted her little birdie (making a fluttering motion with his hands) to leave the nest quite yet?

Telemachus: (chuckling while shaking his head) No, that’s . I just couldn’t wait to beat that shit-eating grin off your ugly face.

Eurymachus: (laughing) Haha! Now that’s what I like to hear!

 

Eurymachus addresses the crowd of men around him. He asks them if they are ready for some for some fist-to-fist action, which garners a huge roar of excitement.

 

The roar of the men mixes with the sound of thunder as we cut back to the ship. A storm now seems to be approaching the ship as the last amount of sunlight begins to fade.

 

 

Eurylochus bluntly tells Odysseus that everyone on the ship, save for Sinon, are fed up with his shit. The whole journey home has been nothing but torturous for all of them. Eurylochus blames Odysseus for everything, listing off all of the events from the first film and this one, saying every single one of them could’ve been avoided had he not gone and pissed off the god of the sea. Odysseus tells him to calm down and begs him to think about what his actions might do. Eurylochus laughs hysterically saying they are well past that stage. He tells the men the only way to assure this never-ending hell of theirs ends is by sacrificing Odysseus himself to Poseidon. Sinon calls Eurylochus a traitor, to which Eurylochus spits in his face. The men try to grab Odysseus, who fights them off but is overpowered. As the struggle on the boat continues, we see from the water the scaly neck of a sea creature arc out of the water. A few other necks can be seen as well.

 

Back in the ring, the excitement in the crowd of men grows to unfathomable heights. Penelope, Eumaeus, and Eurycleia arrive arrive at the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Penelope looks down in horror to see Telemachus and Antinous now on opposite sides of the ring. Eurycleia looks away in horror, putting her face into Eumaeus’s shoulder. Eumaeus puts his hand on Penelope’s shoulder, the latter looks down into the ring, not able to take her eyes off of it.

 

Back to the ship, the men strap Odysseus to the mast. Eurylochus punches him in the gut several times. He expresses he’s been waiting several long years to do that, saying he never liked Odysseus to begin with. He always found him to be arrogant, selfish, unworthy of being a leader. He expresses his glee, saying he can’t wait to see him justly punished. Eurylochus lifts his hands in the air, shouting to Poseidon, saying they are willing to sacrifice Odysseus to him so long as him and everyone else is able to go home to Ithaca, unharmed. The seas around begin to turn more violent as the storm begins to increase in intensity.

 

 

The sound of the thunder matches with the building excitement of the suitors. We see individual shots of both Telemachus and Antinous as they look at each other, pure hatred coming from both of them. Penelope’s clutches her chest, bracing for the start of the fight.

 

Back on the ship, Eurylochus continues to ask Poseidon for his forgiveness upon all the men and begs for mercy through this sacrifice. Behind the ship, a six headed, snake like sea-creature slowly emerges from the water. The men do not take notice, all except for Odysseus who eyes the creature as its heads begin tower over the ship, with a horrified look on his face. Through the thunder and lightning on the side where the men are facing, the large humanoid body of Poseidon can be seen through the clouds.

 

 

Back in Ithaca, the tension grows even higher as the suitors all wait impatiently for the fight to start. Eurymachus goes behind Antinous to whisper something to him.

 

Back on the ship, Eurylochus looks up horrified at the sight of the giant god. He continues to beg him to accept their sacrifice and mercy upon all the men.

 

 

After a long pause and some parallel action cutting back and forth between the ship and the fighting ring, the scene links both the voices of Poseidon and Eurymachus together:

 

 

“No... mercy” 

 

 

Eurymachus shouting “Fight!” and the sound of a lightning bolt break the collective silence of the film with an uproarious sound.

 

Eurylochus in terror looks up over his head to see one of the six headed creatures looking down on him. All the air is seemingly sucked out of the film as we see reaction shots of all people in both parallel scenes.

 

Eurylochus stands petrified, mesmerized at the snake-like creature. He screams bloody murder as the snake strikes down on him, lifting him in the air and swallowing him whole. Chaos breaks out on the ship as the men are attacked at all angles and the storm surrounding them rages on.

 

Back in Ithaca, Telemachus and Antinous begin their fist fight. Antinous lets Telemachus throw a few punches before grabbing his hand mid-punch. Time slows down as Telemachus watches helpless as Antinous raises his fist, a shit-eating grin crawling across his face, and punches forward, time reverting back to its normal speed. Antinous delivers several hard-hitting blows in a row to him. Telemachus stands back, blood dripping down his face. He touches it and looks at the drop on his finger. We see a reaction shot of Penelope, a look of horror etched in her face. Telemachus’s eyes grow wide as he swiftly swings a punch at Antinous.

 

 

On the ship, men are being picked off left and right. Most of them scream for help while others cling on for dear life. Odysseus is jerked back and forth on the mast of the ship. His vision grows dizzy and weak. Sinon appears before him, with a knife, cutting the rope off. He tells Odysseus to get down on the ground of the ship. The two of them do so, hugging the ground, trying to keep themselves from being picked off. Sinon, his face planted firm on the ship, watches as Anticlus is grabbed, legs first, by one of the heads and is flung around in the air. Anticlus screams in horror as the creature swallows him.

 

Telemachus delivers several more furious punches towards Antinous, all of which are blocked. Antinous also delivers some defense punches in response, the last one uppercutting Telemachus in the jaw. Eurymachus watches in delight while Amphinomus watches with growing concern. Penelope cuffs her hand to her mouth, tears streaming down her face. As the fight continues, Antinous gains more and more of the upper hand, delivering more hard punches and blows to Telemachus. After a bit of this, he finds an opportunity and kicks Telemachus down to the ground with a thud. Telemachus groans in pain. Antinous calls him weak, saying he expected more out of the son of a king. Telemachus looks up with growing fury in his eyes.

 

 

Match Cut with Odysseus on the ground. Only a few men remain on the ship, all clinging on for dear life, terrified for their lives. Odysseus, fearing for the worst, tells Sinon to brace for the end of it all. Sinon tells him no, saying that this can’t be the end. They have so much left to live for. Sinon tries to tell Odysseus more but is cut short when one of the heads bites down on his leg. Sinon screams in agony as the monster chomps into his leg. Odysseus, in a fit of rage, hacks at the head of the monster. The monster lets go, hissing in pain at Odysseus. The six-headed monster nearly strikes back before suddenly being swept away by the current of a now forming whirlpool. Odysseus attends to Sinon, now without his left leg.

 

Match Cut Sinon’s leg with Telemachus’s leg. Antinous stomps down on Telemachus’s leg. The film cuts away as a loud crack can be heard. The men in the crowd wince at the sight but cheer in excitement. Penelope covers up her screams in agony, helpless as she watches her son crawl on the ground. Antinous laughs, “You just don’t know when to quit now, do you?” Amphinomus has a look of despair and pity on his face while Eurymachus laughs in delight. Antinous picks up Telemachus’s head, repeatedly punching him. Telemachus’s face grows bruised and puffy. Antinous lets up for a second for him to breath. Then, he strikes another blow.

 

Odysseus watches as the ship begins encircling a now developing whirlpool. The speed at which the ship is travelling increases as Odysseus hears what sounds to be laughter coming from the clouds above. As the ship begins to gain speed, Odysseus grabs onto Sinon and holds onto the ship’s side. Many of the men are flung off into the sea. Sinon makes eye contact with Odysseus. He touches Odysseus’s hand. The two exchange a look of sorrow.

 

Odysseus: I’m sorry. I’ve failed you. I’ve failed all of you.

 

Sinon: (crying) You’ve never failed. Hell, you’ve never gave up. NEVER stop giving up. Promise me that!

Odysseus: I promise!

Sinon: Goodbye Odysseus. Till we meet again someday.

 

Sinon lets go of Odysseus’s hands. In slow-motion, we watch as the wind carries Sinon off the ship and into the whirlpool as other men are also flung off with him. Only Odysseus remains on the ship. He clings on for his life as the ship reaches closer to the bottom of the whirlpool.

 

In a building moment of tension, we see parallel shots of Odysseus struggling to hold and Telemachus struggling to get up. In a slowed down moment, the two of them both look up above them. Odysseus sees a giant, water-figure Poseidon and Telemachus sees Antinous. Both figures tower over father and son. Both figures make a fist as they raise back their arms, smile, and swing down.

 

 

Poseidon’s fist causes Odysseus’s ship to obliterate and Odysseus to be plunged underwater. He is thrown and tossed around violently by the currents underwater.

 

Antinous’s fist is stopped by an unseen hand. Antinous looks up confused, seeing Amphinomus in front of him. Amphinomus pushes him away, telling him to stop this madness. Eurymachus stands up, yelling at Amphinomus to know his place. Amphinomus tells Eurymachus that the boy is barely cleaning to life, telling both of them to back off. Penelope, Eumaeus, and Eurycleia rush over to Telemachus as well. Penelope wails in agony, calling all of the men bastards. Eurymachus states that Telemachus knew what he was getting himself into. Penelope glares at him as she helps Amphinomus pick him up. The four escort Telemachus out of the courtyard as Eurymachus and Antinous laugh. We see Telemachus looking back at the suitors, all still going wild, he reaches his hand back. Eurymachus notices and waves at him, a grin etched in his face. Telemachus grows limp as he loses consciousness and the film cuts to black.

 

(~15 seconds of black screen)

 

 

Odysseus’s body floats on top of the water, isolated in the vast ocean of sea. A few pieces of wreckage from the ship are scattered around him, no bodies to be seen.

 

 

Odysseus (Voice-Over): I lay in the sea, waiting for death to come to me. Waiting for Poseidon to finish me off, but he never did. I suppose that was his cruelest punishment: Leaving me alive and everyone else to perish.

 

Fade to black again.

 

 

We cut to a island along the shoreline. Waves crash in and out along it. We see Odysseus’s body wash up on shore. His body lays limp in the sand as waves continue to crash on him. The camera slowly pans in on him as we hear the sound of footsteps in the background. A figure walks into frame, the camera focusing on the figure’s feet. As Odysseus regains consciousness, he lifts his head up to see a figure stand above him. His vision adjusts and he sees a woman stand above him.

 

Woman: Are you okay?

 

Odysseus: Uh, um, unf.

Woman: My goodness! Here, let me help you up.

 

The woman helps Odysseus slowly sit up. He looks at his surroundings. An island surrounded by nothing but ocean.

 

 

Woman: What is your name?

 

Odysseus: O-O-Odysseus.

Woman: ...The name sounds familiar. Are you the one who Poseidon has a grievance against? I’ve heard all about…

 

Odysseus breaks down crying. The woman doesn’t know how to react.

 

 

Woman: (sighing) I’ll take that as a yes. There, there. Let me help you up.

 

 

She helps Odysseus out of the sand and onto his feet. The two begin walking down the beach, Odysseus still crying.

 

Woman: Poor thing. You look famished. I’ll have my maids fix you up something to eat!

 

Odysseus: (wiping away his tears) Th, thank you. W, what’s your name?

Woman: Calypso, daughter of Atlas and Pleione. This is my island of Ogygia. Don’t worry, you’re safe here with me.

Odysseus: (silently) Thank you.

 

Cut to black again. The film then fades in as we open in Ithaca on a bright, sunny day. We see Eumaeus tending to his sheep when we see Telemachus walk up. Eumaeus cheerfully greets him and the two embrace with a hug. Eumaeus examines his face, saying that he’s starting to look a lot better than he did a few months ago. Telemachus smiles weakly, saying it doesn’t hurt anymore when he touches it. He jokes that getting all the ladies back will probably be a challenge though. Eumaeus laughs at his joke. Telemachus laughs too but his laugh quickly subsides as his grows solemn. Eumaeus asks if he’d like to help him with the sheep, to help take his mind off things. Telemachus smiles, saying he’d be happy to.

 

In Penelope’s quarters, we see her working on a spinning wheel creating a shroud of some sort. She hears a knock on her door, calling for the person at the other side to come in. Amphinomus comes in. He asks her how the burial shroud is going. She spins the wheel backwards and the whole thing comes apart until nothing but string is left on the ground.

 

 

Penelope: Does that answer your question?

 

Amphinomus: I guess so… The men grow more restless than ever for you to finish Laertes’s shroud.

Penelope: I guess they’ll have to continue to wait, won’t they?

Amphinomus: (smiling) I guess so. (pompously) I shall inform them promptly.

Penelope: (laughing) Thank you…. Wait!

Amphinomus: (stopping before exiting the door) Yes, what is it?

Penelope: I know this sounds old but I want to thank you again for standing up for Telemachus. It really means a lot to me.

Amphinomus: (smiling) And I know this sounds old too but you’re welcome. I just wanted to help. That’s all.

 

The two share a smile as Amphinomus exits her quarters. He walks back to the courtyard and tells the men that she is still working on the burial shroud. They groan in annoyance to which Amphinomus tells them to suck it up. Antinous complains that it shouldn’t take her this long to weave a shroud to which Amphinomus rebutes saying that he’d like to see him try and weave a shroud. The men laugh at him, causing Antinous to glare at them angrily, shutting them up. Eurymachus puts his hand on Antinous’s shoulder, telling him to relax.

 

We cut to the island of Ogygia. Odysseus sits atop a cliff overlooking the ocean. The sound of whispers start up as we hear the voices of spirits and men taunting Odysseus again. He winces in pain as they grow louder and louder. The voices subside when Calypso sits down next to Odysseus. She hands him a glass of wine. The two sit and watch the sunset on the horizon.

 

Telemachus also sits along the shoreline of Ithaca, looking at the same sunset. He imagines Laertes sitting next to him. He tells Laertes that he feels like he’s done a disservice to him by losing the fight. Laertes puts his hand on his shoulder, assuring his grandson that he is proud of him for not backing down and continuing to get up when he was knocked down. He tells Telemachus to never stop backing down. Telemachus thanks him but Laertes disappears from his viewpoint as he is brought back to the present.

 

Atop her balcony, Penelope looks at the sunset as well. She looks down at the shoreline to see Telemachus. She smiles and looks back up at the sunset.

 

We cut between all three of them as they stare off into the sunset the camera shots looking as if Penelope and Telemachus are looking at Odysseus and Odysseus back at them.

 

The film closes with Odysseus and Calypso staring up into the skyline above them before the film fades to black.

 

The song "In The Name of the Father" by Kaleo plays during the end credits.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2018 by Rorschach

[Hiccup23]

Halloweentown

 

Date- October 4th

Genre- Stop Motion Animation

Rating- PG- thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor

Theaters- 3,269 theaters

Budget- 50 million

Running Time- 84 minutes or 1 hour and 24 minutes

Studio- O$corp Pictures

Director- Henry Selick

Actors/Actresses

Marnie- Sophia Lillis

Gwen- Amy Poehler

Dylan- Jacob Tremblay

Aggie- Lily Tomlin

Kalabar- Alec Baldwin

 

Spoiler

The film begins with Marnie Piper and her mother, Gwen, arguing over why she and her younger siblings Dylan and Sophie can never go out for Halloween. Gwen patiently explains why, but with no detail, it is no surprise that Marnie still has a problem with her mom's order. Gwen has more or less restored order in the house, when her mother Aggie, who is an expert witch, shows up for her annual Halloween visit. The kids are happier to see Aggie than Gwen is, and it is soon shown why: Aggie openly encourages the kids to get more involved in all things Halloween, and Gwen is nearly powerless to stop her. Aggie seems especially intent on training Marnie as a witch, since it is Marnie's 13th Halloween. Marnie, of course, has no idea about any of this. Aggie drops a huge hint as she is about to head home: reading the kids a bedtime story, when Sophie sees a drawing of a witch that closely resembles her big sister, Aggie does nothing to stop Marnie from imagining such a thing. Later that evening, Gwen and Aggie get into an argument about all of this, and Gwen insists Marnie will be raised as a normal person and not a witch. Aggie says she disagrees with this, but actually she is there for another reason: people have suddenly started mysteriously disappearing. Gwen thinks they just moved, but Aggie says it is not that simple. Aggie desperately asks for Gwen's help, but Gwen declines. Aggie is distraught by Gwen's disregard for the safety of her old home of Halloweentown and leaves, turning the chicken leftovers into a live chicken on the way out. Gwen is not aware Marnie was watching this the whole time. Marnie runs back upstairs to tell Dylan what she just saw, and Dylan says she's crazy. They then follow Aggie covertly to a previously non-existent bus stop. When the bus indeed arrives, Marnie and Dylan sneak on board. Suddenly, the bus shakes violently and the bus is filled with flashing lights...and before they know it, the bus is landing in Halloweentown.

 

Aggie doesn't see Marnie and Dylan getting off the bus. At the same time, Marnie and Dylan don't see Sophie getting on the bus. Dylan notices her, and Marnie asks what she's doing here. Sophie says she was only pretending to sleep; she heard everything Marnie told Dylan, and followed them. They all begin to look for Aggie, who they have lost, when the Mayor Kalabar approaches them. He whistles for the cab, which is driven by Benny, a skeleton with a bad sense of humor. The three siblings find their grandmother's home, and against her better judgment, Aggie decides not to take them home immediately. She says she'll start Marnie's witch training, but has to take care of the bad thing first. She shows her grandchildren what she is talking about: in the cauldron, a vision of a hooded demon appears, laughing maniacally. Aggie has a talisman that she says can defeat this demon, but her witches brew is defective. So she has to take the kids into town and get the ingredients to make her own. In town, Marnie discovers a broom shop, and the family is introduced to Luke, who looks like a normal human kid. He makes a clumsy pass at Marnie, which she turns down on the spot; after Luke offers to take Marnie out for an ice cream, she stares daggers at him. Benny earlier explained that Luke once looked like a troll, but claimed a shadow demon made him handsome. Marnie picks a broom, and she and Aggie take it for a test drive. When they get back, a distressed Gwen has shown up and orders the kids to return home immediately. Marnie fights her briefly, but eventually knows she cannot win once her mother decided to ground her. Gwen can't find another bus back to the mortal world, and when she tries to see if the mayor can do anything, she is shocked that the Mayor is Kalabar, her old boyfriend. When Kalabar briefly leaves to handle another problem, Gwen and her kids see Aggie walking somewhere with Luke. Sensing Aggie might be in trouble, they follow Aggie and Luke to an abandoned movie theater. Once inside, Gwen and Aggie find themselves battling the hooded demon that they had previously seen in the cauldron. The demon freezes Aggie and Gwen with an evil spell, and suddenly Marnie finds herself in charge. She decides to finish what Aggie started, with some help from Dylan and Sophie, by gathering the ingredients for the witch’s brew that will hopefully make the talisman work. They are successful, and soon find themselves battling the demon, who reveals himself to be none other than Kalabar himself. With the help of Luke, who has realized the error of his ways, Marnie disables Kalabar long enough to unfreeze Aggie and Gwen, as well as all the other Halloweentown citizens whom Kalabar had trapped in the theater previously. Marnie, Gwen and Aggie confront Kalabar. Kalabar is apparently bitter over the fact that their kind was forced to relocate to this new world because humans wouldn't accept them, and that Gwen passed him over years ago for a mortal man. But the three of them alone aren't enough. Sophie has also been showing signs of possessing magic, and Dylan, when angered, also displays powers himself despite trying to deny it. The five of them combine their powers and destroy Kalabar using the talisman. Gwen agrees to let Marnie start witch training and even invites Aggie to live with them. The film ends with the family going on to the bus to the mortal world, with Luke as the bus driver, and blast off.

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by Hiccup23

[Hiccup23]

Bartimaeus and the Amulet of Samarkand

 

Date- November 15th

Genre- Fantasy/Family

Rating- PG-13

Theaters- 4,003 theaters |IMAX

Budget- 150 million

Running Time- 128 minutes or 2 hours and 8 minutes

Studio- O$corp Pictures

Director- David Yates

Actors and Actress-

Nathaniel- Josh Hutcherson

Bartimaeus- Tom Holland

Simon Lovelace- Mark Strong

Arthur Underwood- Jonathan Pryce

Martha Underwood- Julie Walters

Farquarl- Freddie Stroma

Jabor- Gart Hathan

Jessica Whitwall- Octavia Spencer

Rupert Devereaux- Gary Oldman

 

Plot: 

Spoiler

The film opens with a view of a beautiful mansion garden. We two men sitting in chairs talking to each other. The elder man identified as Mr. Arthur Underwood addresses the young man identified as Simon Lovelace. Mr. Underwood says to Lovelace that his apprentice Nathaniel has an acute ability with magic and should one day be a powerful magician. Lovelace smiles and asks Mr. Underwood to show him this boy. Mr. Underwood calls Nathaniel. We see a young boy run up to Mr. Underwood. Mr. Underwood tells Nathaniel that this is Simon Lovelace. Lovelace looks keenly at the boy and says that he sees nothing special about Nathaniel. Nathaniel narrows his eyes and bluntly tells Lovelace that he is better than Lovelace at magic. Lovelace smiles and pats Nathaniel on the head. Nathaniel caste a spell and it hurls Lovelace several feet back. Lovelace gets up. Mr. Underwood chuckles to himself and tells Nathaniel to calm down. Nathaniel ignores Mr. Underwood and castes the Inferno spell and a ball of fire flies toward Lovelace, however Lovelace quickly and coolly caste a spell that blocks the spell caste by Nathaniel. Lovelace then caste a spell that hurls Nathaniel across the garden. Lovelace stands over Nathaniel. Lovelace glares at Nathaniel and tells him that he is weak and a low level magician. Mr. Underwood tells Lovelace to leave the boy alone since he is merely a foolish young boy. Lovelace grabs his hat and says that he will be leaving. Mr. Underwood helps Nathaniel up and tells him that he thinks he will be the greatest magician the world has ever known. Nathaniel smiles and walks with Mr. Underwood inside.

 

9 Years Later

 

We see Nathaniel sitting reading book about spells and magic in Mr. Underwood’s library. He looks up and he says that it is almost time to prove himself as a great magician to Mr. Lovelace. We hear Mr. Underwood call for Nathaniel and he leaves his books scattered on the desk and floor.  That night, we see him outside of Lovelace’s gothic styled mansion. The sky is starless and rainy. Nathaniel peers into the window and sees a man standing with Lovelace in the dining room. He casts a spell to hear the conversation inside. The man gives Lovelace a beautiful jade oval shaped amulet hanging on a golden chain. The man tells Lovelace that it is the prized Amulet of Samarkand, which can absorb any magic that tries to attack the user. He tells Lovelace that he can become the most powerful and wealthiest man in the world. Lovelace thanks the man and the man leaves. Nathaniel smiles and says that he will take the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace. Nathaniel says that he will have a spirit do his work.

 

We see Nathaniel standing in the middle of a pentacle back at his home. He closes his eyes and mumbles a spell. Immediately, the ground begins to shake and a green mist rises from one end of the pentacle. Nathaniel looks on as the green mist takes the form of a human. The figure asks dryly what Nathaniel wants. Nathaniel is startled at the spirit knowing his name. He asks the spirit how he knows his name. The spirit says that spirits wander to and thro on the earth. They know everything about humanity. Nathaniel says that is kind of creepy knowing that spirits are watching them.  The spirit says it is a good way to pass the time between being summoned. Nathaniel asks the spirit’s name. The spirit says his name is Bartimaeus. Nathaniel tells Bartimaeus that he wants him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace. Bartimaeus looks at Nathaniel and says that is a stupid thing to do. Nathaniel says that he is Bartimaeus’s master and Bartimaeus must do as he says. Bartimaeus rolls his eyes and says he will help Nathaniel since he is bound to.

 

The film moves to Bartimaeus sneaking into Lovelace’s house. He quickly walks into the dining room where Nathaniel said the amulet was. Bartimaeus opens a flask on the table and inside is the amulet. Bartimaeus shrugs and says that was easy. He says he can’t believe a powerful amulet is just left sitting around the house. He puts the amulet inside of his pant pocket. Suddenly a voice says, “What was easy, Bartimaeus?” Bartimaeus turns around and sees Jabor and Farquarl, the two spirits walk toward him. Farquarl says that it has been a long time since he has seen Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus tells Farquarl that he is just going to head out. Jabor leaps on the table and asks Bartimaeus why he was here. Bartimaeus says that he was sent by the government to make sure the amulet was safe in Lovelace’s house. Jabor nods. Farquarl says that they are sorry for detaining Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus smiles and leaves.

 

The film moves to Bartimaeus entering Nathaniel’s room and he shows Nathaniel the amulet. Nathaniel grabs it and looks at it smiling in delight. Nathaniel tells Bartimaeus to hide the amulet in the house. Bartimaeus leaves to do so. After Bartimaeus leaves, Nathaniel says he can’t believe he got the amulet that easy from Lovelace. Bartimaeus re-enters and tells Nathaniel to dismiss him. Nathaniel shakes his head and says that Bartimaeus has one month of servanthood to Nathaniel and he will spy on Lovelace and discover more about the Amulet of Samarkand. He says he wants to find out how to uses its power. Bartimaeus tells Nathaniel that he lied to him. He asks again t be sent back. Nathaniel tells that Bartimaeus is his servant and he (Nathaniel) is his master. Bartimaeus says that spirits are tired of running around doing the silly work of the magicians. Nathaniel caste the Systematic Vice spell and it pins Bartimaeus to the wall. Bartimaeus struggles to escape, but the spell binds him tighter. Nathaniel says that he will destroy Bartimaeus if he doesn’t agree to do his bidding. Bartimaeus struggling to breath, whispers that he will obey Nathaniel and he will spy on Lovelace. Nathaniel removes the spell. Bartimaeus falls to the floor coughing. Nathaniel tells Bartimaeus to get started on his job. Bartimaeus glares at Nathaniel. He then castes a spell and disappears from the room.

 

The following day, Nathaniel, Mrs. Underwood, and Mr. Underwood attend the state address in London. Prime Minister Rupert Devereaux starts to give his address to the large crowd. He talks about how strong England is and about the relations between magicians and non-magicians. The crowd is made up of magicians who cheer wildly at the Prime Minister’s speech. We see some non-magicians walking by, the look in disgust and fear at the massive crowd of magicians. All non-magicians wear a pin that reads NM for non-magician.  A wild looking man bumps into Nathaniel. Nathaniel tells him to watch out. The man looks up in hate at Nathaniel. He pushes his way to the middle of the crowd and opens up his jacket revealing bombs strapped to him. The crowd begins to panic and stampede. The man shouts, “Down with the magicians!! Down with magic!!!” He pushes a button. The bombs explode. Some magicians caste teleportation spells to escape the explosion. Others create shield spells or command their personal spirits to protect them. Nathaniel and Mr. Underwood hold up their arms to block the debris in fear. Mrs. Underwood keeping her calm, castes the dissolving spell, which dissolves the debris and protects her, Mr. Underwood, and Nathaniel. Once the explosion settles, Mr. Underwood grabs Nathaniel and tells Mrs. Underwood that is time to go home. The three move quickly away from the chaos. As they drive home, Mr. Underwood tells Mrs. Underwood that there is talk of rebellion against the government by non-magicians. Mrs. Underwood says that, that talk has been going on forever. She says however that the violence has gotten worse since the economy crashed. Nathaniel asks who was that man. Mr. Underwood says he probably belongs to a group known as the Resistance. Mrs. Underwood shakes her head and says she misses the old days when each group was fair and co-existed together. Mr. Underwood says that these are darker and dangerous times indeed.

 

The film switches to Bartimaeus; he is disguised as one of Lovelace’s messenger imps by wearing a ring, which he cast a disguise spell on. He makes his way quickly through the dark and apprehensive halls in Lovelace’s mansion. He enters a room and finds a Simpkin, a spirit in the form of a small boy with lime green skin and three heads that change color. Bartimaeus asks Simpkin if he knows of the Amulet of Samarkand. Simpkin says that it was under the protection of the government until it was stolen by Lovelace. Simpkin says Lovelace is in great distress because the amulet has gone missing. Simpkin asks why Bartimaeus wants to know about the amulet. Bartimaeus says that he has to go. Simpkin grabs Bartimaeus’s hand and looks at the ring. He says that Bartimaeus is not one of the messenger imps. He then rips the ring off. Bartimaeus turns to his human form. Simpkin shouts for Lovelace. Bartimaeus tells him to be silent, but Simpkin continues to shout. Bartimaeus hears voices and footsteps coming. Bartimaeus castes a spell at Simpkin. Simpkin mutters a spell and snaps his fingers. Simpkin vanishes before Bartimaeus’s spell can reach him. Lovelace and several other magicians run into the room and grab Bartimaeus before he can escape. Bartimaeus struggles to escape, but it knocked out by a magician. Bartimaeus awakes in a cell in the Tower of London. The door opens and Jessica Whitwell head of the Ministry of Security, Prime Minister Rupert Devereaux, and Lovelace enter. Jessica Whitwell asks who summoned him and what his purpose is. Bartimaeus remains silent. Prime Minister Rupert Devereaux tells Bartimaeus who they are and that he will be imprisoned until he tells them what they need to know. Bartimaeus says that he doesn’t need to answer since they are not his master. Lovelace turns to the Prime Minister to say something, however the Prime Minister signals to him to be silent. The Prime Minister tells Bartimaeus that they will be back to try again. They leave. Bartimaeus sighs as the door closes. Suddenly, Jabor and Faquarl appear. Jabor says that Bartimaeus did an excellent job fooling them at Lovelace’s mansion. Bartimaeus jumps up and asks what they want. Farquarl says that all they want is to help Bartimaeus escape from the cell. Bartimaeus gives them a distrustful look. Bartimaeus says that he will teleport out since they got in through teleportation. Farquarl says that Jessica Whitwell caste a spell on Bartimaeus making him unable to escape through teleportation spells or any other magic. Bartimaeus asks what they really want. Jabor says that they will help him escape if he tells them who summoned him. Bartimaeus closes his eyes and sighs. He says that Nathaniel Underwood summoned him to get the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace. Farquarl and Jabor disappear. Bartimaeus curses thinking he has been fooled. The camera moves outside. We see Jabor and Farquarl shooting up through the sky in jet of black smoke. They swirl around and head for the tower in, which Bartimaeus is imprisoned at a great speed. They strike the tower and it collapses. Debris falls onto the street below. People scream and run away from the tower. The prison’s sirens blare. Bartimaeus says he thought they left him. Jabor says they keep their word. He says that he and Farquarl are coming for Nathaniel and the Amulet. Bartimaeus turns into black smoke and flies off toward the Underwood’s villa.

 

Bartimaeus flies through the night sky in a jet of black smoke toward the Underwood’s villa. He looks behind him and sees Jabor quickly following him. They begin to caste Inferno spells at each other as they fly quickly through the sky. Bartimaeus strikes Jabor. Jabor stops and screams in pain. His essence (energy field that makes up a spirit) whirls around him as he plummets out of the sky. Bartimaeus smiles to himself in delight. Telephone poles and houses beneath Jabor explode and collapse due to his essence. The night sky lights up with the explosions and Jabor’s blue essence. When Bartimaeus arrives at the home, he circles the Underwood’s villa and enters the home via the window. Nathaniel whirls around in surprise. Nathaniel says that Lovelace is at the house. Nathaniel says that he knows the amulet is missing. He asks Bartimaeus Lovelace knows. Bartimaeus interrupts and says Nathaniel needs to escape with him, but Nathaniel refuses. Downstairs, we see Mr. Underwood arguing with Lovelace. Lovelace demands that Mr. Underwood give him the amulet and Mr. Underwood says that he has no knowledge of the amulet. Lovelace says that he will destroy the Underwood’s house if he doesn’t have the amulet. Lovelace continues to intimate and harass the Underwoods. Mrs. Underwood defiantly attempts to strike Lovelace with a spell, but Lovelace blocks it. Lovelace then castes the Convulsion spell, which causes all the windows in the house to burst. Jabor lands next to Lovelace, a cut across his face. Mrs. Underwood is about to caste a spell at Lovelace in retaliation, but Mr. Underwood stops her. Lovelace tells Jabor to search the house. In the study, Jabor angrily ransacks through Mr. Underwood’s books. Mrs. Underwood angrily shouts at them to stop destroying her home and that they don’t have the amulet. Jabor looking behind a shelf discovers the amulet. He holds it up smiling. Lovelace quickly grabs it and glares at Mr. Underwood. Mr. Underwood slowly backs up saying that he did not steal it. Suddenly, Nathaniel burst into the room saying that he stole it. Bartimaeus follows Nathaniel ready to protect him from Jabor and Lovelace. Lovelace says that he will punish all of them for stealing the amulet. Mr. Underwood says that Lovelace will not hurt anyone. Lovelace walks outside of the house saying that he can’t let thieves run lose in England. He nods to Jabor who burst into a cloud of black smoke and zooms into the sky. Mrs. Underwood caste the Denotation Spell at Lovelace and he does the same. As they viciously duel. Mr. Underwood tries to summon the authorities, but it struck by a spell from Jabor. Mr. Underwood falls over dead. Mrs. Underwood distracted by Mr. Underwood’s death is hit by Lovelace with a spell and she dies. Bartimaeus grabs Nathaniel and tells him they have to go now, but Nathaniel refuses. Jabor shoots high into the sky and then comes rushing at a great speed toward the house.  When Jabor hits the house it explodes into a ball of fire. Bartimaeus grabs Nathaniel and snaps his fingers. A flash of light appears and Bartimaeus and Nathaniel vanish leaving behind a cloud dust. The house collapses in flames. Jabor circles back and lands by Lovelace. Lovelace says that it is time.

 

The sun peeks over the eastern sky. Bartimaeus and Nathaniel stand over the white cliffs of Dover. The waves crash on the rocks and spray splashes in their faces. Bartimaeus looks at Nathaniel and asks him what he is going to do. Nathaniel says that he will get his revenge on Lovelace for murdering the Underwoods. Bartimaeus says that that is a foolish idea because Lovelace will inevitably kill him and Nathaniel. Bartimaeus says Nathaniel should go to the authorities. Nathaniel shakes his head. He says Lovelace is too politically powerful. Nathaniel says that the Underwoods were killed because of his stupidity for stealing the amulet and because he couldn’t let go of a grudge. He says he grew up his whole life being told by Mr. and Mrs. Underwood that he was a great magician. He says he let it get into his head. He said he hasn’t seen straight because of his pride.  He says he was an arrogant jerk to Bartimaeus. He apologizes for calling Bartimaeus a severant. Nathaniel says that he will dismiss Bartimaeus if he wishes. The two then stand in silence. The waves crash on the cliffs and gulls cry above them. After a moment, Bartimaeus looks out over the channel for a moment and then turns to Nathaniel and says that he will help him. Bartimaeus says he is in too far. Nathaniel smiles and says that they must hurry. Nathaniel asks Bartimaeus to locate Lovelace. Bartimaeus closes his eyes and mumbles the words to the Pulse spell. A yellow light flashes across the land. Bartimaeus finally opens his eyes and says that Lovelace is at Heddlehem Hall in London with a group of men and spirits. He says Lovelace is intending to overthrow the Parliament by summoning Ramuthra a powerful spirit. Nathaniel says that they must hurry then. Bartimaeus and Nathaniel teleport to London.

 

The sky over London is dark and ominous. The clouds are grey and a slight drizzle is falling. After disguising themselves as servants, they enter the hall. They quickly make their way to the kitchen to discuss their plan to stop Lovelace. When they are just about to enter the kitchen, Bartimaeus grabs Nathaniel and tells him that Farquarl is in the kitchen. The two stop to think of where to go. Suddenly a man walks quickly toward them shouting. Bartimaeus castes the Detonation spell at the man and shouts for Nathaniel to run. Bartimaeus and the man quickly find themselves in a fierce duel. The green colored Detonation spells strike the walls with loud crackles blasting the walls. Nathaniel meanwhile runs into a room and shuts the door. We hear Simon Lovelace say, “Well, well if it isn’t Nathaniel!” Nathaniel whirls around in shock. Lovelace stands up and says that he is glad to see that Nathaniel is alive and well. He says that he thought that Nathaniel would not show up to see him take over the government. Nathaniel says that he will not let that happen. Lovelace smiles and says that he has to go. He motions to a spirit named Schyler. He tells Schyler to take care of Nathaniel. Lovelace leaves. Schyler looks at Nathaniel and tell him that Nathaniel can join Lovelace and his new order or die. Nathaniel says that he would rather die before joining Lovelace. Schyler smiles and says that he hoped Nathaniel would say that. Nathaniel caste the Plasma spell. Schyler tries to dodge it, but it strikes him and he disintegrates into dust. Nathan opens the door and finds Bartimaeus laying flat against the ceiling. Bartimaeus says that the man escaped and he was almost discovered by Lovelace. Bartimaeus and Nathaniel quickly hurry to the meeting chamber.

 

We see the lord of Parliament walking into Heddlehem Hall. In the hall, we see Jessica Whitwell telling the Prime Minister Rupert Devereaux that the commoners are in a rebellion against the government, she reminds him of what happened at the state address. The lords begin to discuss what action should be taken. We see Lovelace stand up and address Prime Minister Rupert Devereaux and Jessica Whitwell. He tells them that the British Empire is in need of reform because the government is weak and petty. Devereaux asks Lovelace what his plan is. Lovelace is about to say, when Bartimaeus and Nathaniel burst into the chamber yelling for the lords of Parliament to listen to them. Nathaniel says that Lovelace is going to destroy them by summoning Ramuthra. The lords begin to whisper among themselves. Devereaux looks at Nathaniel and asks who he thinks he is bursting in on a private government meeting. He also says that it is impossible to summon Ramuthra, because if you summon him you will definitely die trying. Bartimaeus says that Lovelace has the Amulet of Samarkand to protect himself and his followers with. Jessica Whitwell exclaims that this is preposterous and castes the Stricture spell on Nathaniel and Bartimaeus trapping them in a web of white webs. Devereaux says that he will deal with the youths later and asks Lovelace to continue with what he was saying. Lovelace gives a nod and several men get up and magically seal the doors. Devereaux asks what Lovelace thinks he is doing. Lovelace pulls out the Amulet of Samarkand and exclaims that a new era has begun. His followers pull back the carpet on the floor and reveal a massive blood red pentacle. The lords of Parliament immediately shout that this is treason against the British Empire. Lovelace says that it is not treason, but a violent reform. With that Lovelace blows on a summoning horn and shouts “Stimulatous Compass!!!” Lightning bolts strike at all five corners of the pentacle and a massive hole appears in the floor in the middle of the pentacle. A blue light shoots out causing the lords to reel back.. A cloud of black smoke appears over the hole and it whirls around in great fury slowly forming the form of a man-like creature. The walls and ceiling begin to cave in causing debris to fall everywhere. Everything including people are being sucked toward the cloud of black smoke where they disintegrate into it. The web which entangles Bartimaeus and Nathaniel burst apart freeing them. Lovelace holds up the Amulet of Samarkand to protect himself. Bartimaeus runs toward Lovelace to seize the amulet, but Jabor quickly burst into a cloud of smoke and rushes at Bartimaeus to stop him. Bartimaeus dodges Jabor who finds himself trapped in Ramuthra’s powerful essence and he is dragged into Ramuthra. Lovelace briefly distracted by Jabor’s fate lets his guard of the amulet down. Nathaniel castes a spell which stuns Lovelace. Nathaniel grabs the amulet. Ramuthra turns to Lovelace and roars at him why Lovelace summoned him. Lovelace drops to his knees in terror. Ramuthra roars and his massive hand reaches out and crushes Lovelace, obviating him. Nathaniel grabs the Summoning Horn and hurls the horn to the ground shattering it in to tiny pieces. Ramuthra immediately collapses in to the hole with a roar. A powerful blast of wind and an eye blinding flash of light burst throughout Heddlehem Hall. The windows burst and the lights go out miles around. A blue lightning bolt shoots up from the hole into the sky over London. People in London look into the sky at the bolt and start to run in panic. A deafening boom follows as the bolt lights up the sky. Then everything returns to normal. People stop running and look around in shock. Nathaniel who was thrown against the wall slowly get up and staggers over to Prime Minister Devereaux who is has fallen to the ground. Nathaniel places the Amulet of Samarkand in Devereaux’s hand. Devereaux whispers his thanks. Nathaniel looks back at the dust covered Bartimaeus who smiles.

 

Two days later, we see Nathaniel and Bartimaeus walking through a lovely garden at Jessica Whitwell’s mansion. Nathaniel says that Jessica is going to be his new teacher in wizardry and that he will live here. Nathaniel says that he can now dismiss Bartimaeus since there is no need of him to stay in human form. Bartimaeus says he has something to tell Nathaniel. He warns Nathaniel against the typical road of a magician, which involves power-seeking behavior, materialism, and a general shallow existence. Bartimaeus tells Nathaniel that he has something most magicians’ lack, something that he should guard, a conscience. Nathaniel nods and says he will remember Bartimaeus’s words. Bartimaeus gives a smile and says he is ready. Nathaniel smiles back and says, “Goodbye friend.”. Nathaniel then says the words of dismissal and Bartimaeus vanishes in a cloud of dust. The dust falls gently to the ground.

 

Edited March 14, 2018 by Hiccup23

[YM!]

Alpha Flight 

Studio: Endless Entertainment 

Marvel Entertainment 

Release Date: 7/3/Y3

Genre: Superhero/Action/Comedy

Director: Matthew Vaughn 

Rating: PG-13 for prolonged sequences of action violence, a brief rude gesture and some language

Budget: $150M 

Theater Count: 4,150

Format: 2D, 3D, IMAX 2D and IMAX 3D (Alpha Flight had some scenes filmed for IMAX)

Runtime: 135 minutes

Cast:

Erza Miller as Jean/Northstar

Ryan Gosling as Guardian 

Jay Baruchel as Beldam 

Margot Robbie as Snowbird

Dwanye Johnson as Walter/Sasquatch 

Peter Dinklage as Puck

Sam Beach as Shaman

Zoe Saldana as Hot-Streak

Zachary Gordon as Multiple

Carl Weathers as Cactus

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Barbara

 

 

Spoiler

The movie opens with Alpha Flight attempting to stop Beldam (a telepathic supervillain) from breaking into a museum, which had already broken into. 

 

Snowbird transforms into a polar bear, Sasquatch and Puck flex humorously, Shaman prepares his satchel, and Guardian does a superhero landing. Beldam holding a gray gemstone, comments how typical of the event. 

 

Beldam: “You’re looking good, Guardian. Cutting down on the poutine, eh.”

Guardian: “Enough chit chat. Give us the gemstone. I don’t want to fight you.”

Beldam: “I could do that but then again that’d be too easy.”

Sasquatch: “So what’s the plan for that gemstone? Turn people into brainwashed zombie slaves? Unleash Armageddon? Take over Earth? Destroy Earth? Get free tacos?”

Puck: Why tacos? That is literally the dumbest reason.

Sasquatch: “It spices up the banter. Have you not seen The Avengers.”

Beldam: “I could tell you my plot and do that cliche supervillain thing or I can show you my new friends.” 

Beldam whistles and three of his newest henchmen come out. 

Beldam: “Meet Hot-Streak.”

A young Hispanic woman, conjures flames from her hand. 

Beldam: “Multiple”

A nerdy looking man makes numerous copies of himself.

Beldam: “and Cactus”

A man in wrestlers leotard grows spines all over his body.

Snowbird: “How did you...”

Beldam: “What get jacked up henchmen, it took a little effort, but it turns out they are more people like me who know the truth. I would love to stay and chat but I wouldn’t.”

 

Beldam runs out of the museum only for Guardian to pursue him.

Hot-Streak: “I’m burning for a fight.”

Shaman: “Ugh. Can we stop with banter.”

 

[Michael Jackson’s Beat It plays]

 

Hot-Streak throws fireballs at Shaman who catches then in his bag, spitting out icicles. Snowbird and Puck fight Multiple clones. Snowbird turns into a wolf and slashes through the clones while Puck does some incredible acrobatics and fighting skills. Cactus and Sasquatch wrestle. Sasquatch knocks Cactus into a wall, only to realize he’s been stabbed by Cactus thorns.

 

Sasquatch: “OW! Paper cut.”

 

Guardian and Beldam both fight in mid air. Guardian blasts a beam of energy from his suit, while Beldam grabs the beam using his powers and turns into a ball of energy causing it to explode. Guardian delivers a few good punches at Beldam. Beldam using psychic energy to create boxing gloves hitting Guardian repeatedly. Back at the Museum, Shaman uses his staff to block Hot-Streak’s fire blasts, Puck rides Snowbird in polar bear form and grab a sword, fighting the clones. Sasquatch puts Cactus in a headlock, but Cactus breaks free and turns into a spiked ball.

 

Guardian: “Peter, there is still good in you. Come back to us please and give us the gem.” 

Beldam: “Peter died years ago. I have had fun. But I gotta go.”

 

Beldam absorbs some of the gem causing him much to Guardian’s shock, teleports away along with his henchmen. The museum is in ruins and the team is worn out. 

 

Guardian: “I fear Beldam has grown more powerful. I know it’s obvious but that gem has some sort of power. My question is how many more superpowered individuals are they.”

Snowbird: “Now is not the time for questions. We must leave quickly. We can’t be discovered.”

 

The team leaves the museum quickly wondering what their next move will be. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jean-Paul Beaubier, a high school senior struggles with the fact of his sexuality. He goes to talk to his best friend, Doug, the star of the school basketball about it, revealing he’s gay hoping to still be accepted. However, Doug doesn’t take the news well at all, and neither does the majority of the student body, and Jean is jumped after school by the basketball team. However before they can finish him, Jean begins to levitate off the ground, and suddenly gains enchanced strength and speed, and burns the attackers with light rays. Although injured, the jocks retreat back to their own homes. Jean runs to the bathroom, crying about being a “freak”. 

 

Later that night, Jean rushes home to his mother, Barbara, a real estate agent, to tells her what happened. Barbara doesn’t believe Jean until he starts levitating. Barbara is surprisingly okay with that, much to Jean’s confusion and tells him to get some rest and it’ll be okay in the morning. Somewhere hidden, we see a man in a super suit on a computer, sipping coffee watching a monitor. A message pops up from Barbara, reading “I have a new candidate for Alpha Flight.” A scientist asks if he’s sure it’s a good idea. The man responds they all the help they can get. Jean misses his alarm to his surprise, waking up in the car. Barbara reveals they are moving to Canada, Jean is still naturally confused but goes along with it. After a long drive the two reach a forest. A large grey military helicopter shines its headlights at Jean. Realizing the similarities from a horror movie he saw, Jean is hilariously paranoid, threatening to use his powers. Expecting an army, a grumpy, old man steps out of the helicopter, telling Jean that he’s wants him to come with him for a meeting. The three flies to a large government building entering an elevator. A huge state of the art facility is there. Walter, the scientist from earlier, happily greets Jean, bringing him to meet Guardian. Guardian does a typical superhero landing, causing the ground to shake a little upon impact. Guardian happily hugs Barbara, revealing themselves as old friends, and that Barbara has secretly been a government agent. Barbara introduces Guardian to Jean. Guardian gives Jean a hearty handshake welcoming him to the team. Jean is naturally confused and asks what the hell is going on. Guardian asks Walter to do his thing. Walter morphs into Sasquatch right in front of them. Guardian then signals the rest of the team out, as they all introduce themselves.

 

 

Guardian: We are a secret task force to safe guard Canada and the world using what some would call unnatural abilities.

Jean: So a shitty knockoff of X-Men. 

 

(Everybody on the team but Puck replies no)

 

Puck (clears throat): Yes, entirely.

Jean: So, why do you need me if you have superpowers. Unless I am some sort of chosen one, or you just need help or what.

Sasquatch: No. It’s because, uh. Okay, you got us pinned.

Snowbird: We need all the help we can get against Beldam. Beldam has recently stolen the Sotnem gemstone, that has the capabilities of absorbing and exuding forces, from the Canadian Museum of History and...

Jean: You theorize he’ll use it to take over the world. Shocking.

Shaman: I can take one or two sassy self aware pricks on the team but I draw the line at three. 

Guardian: We know about your recent newly acquired abilities, and we need your help to save the world. At the same thing, we can help you harness your untamable powers.

Jean: Okay. I’ll join. Might as well do some good.

 

Guardian then takes him to their training facility. Jean goes into their state of the art training simulator called P.H.O.T.O.S. Sasquatch reverts back to Walter to pilot the machine. Walter puts Jean through various apocalyptic or dangerous simulations but his powers don’t seem to be activate. Snowbird suggests the maybe they are too hard for him, suggesting an easier but still challenging scenarios. The simulator changes into a school, with a kid getting bullied, causing Jean’s powers to flare. Walter hypothesizes that Jean when at touch with his emotions can use his powers. Walter wants to put him through more tests but Jean powers uncontrollably surge causing them to withhold the test. 

 

Meanwhile, we see Beldam walking to his secret hideout, a seemly normal but old church, opening the Bible and reads a phrase, the statue of Jesus on the cross opens to reveal a hallway, which leads to a big room with his henchmen there as well. 

 

Cactus: “Where have you been boss? You’ve been out all day.”

Beldam: “Plotting. My lady and Gentlemen, my plan is almost complete. For too long have people like us with extraordinary abilities have had to hide. For too long have we been chastised for our differences. We just need some more...”

 

Beldam lets out a bloodcurdling scream in pain and drops to the floor. Hot-Streak immediately rushes to his side. 

 

Hot-Streak: “Beldam, are you alright?”

Beldam: “Everything fine, dear. I just need to rest. However I want you guys to continue with the assault on Pius Industries. We need their equipment. Multiple, is my machine almost ready?” 

Multiple: “Yes, the gemstone is correctly powering the machine. We just need the final two things and bada bing bada boom, we are victorious.”

 

Beldam attempts to walk to his room but almost collapses. Hot-Streak decides to carry him to his room, getting him a glass of water and some aspirin. 

 

Hot-Streak: “Here. Are you sure you don’t need a doctor, darling? Your episodes have only been getting worse.”

 

Beldam takes a sip of the water and takes the medicine. 

 

Beldam: “Trust me. As long as I get some rest and my plan works, I’ll be fine.”

 

Hot-Streak and Beldam kiss and Hot-Streak leaves the room. Hot Streak, Multiple and Cactus walk outside of the church. 

 

Hot-Streak: “Come on boys, we have a job to do.”

 

Beldam doses off into a deep sleep. We see Beldam awaken in a pure white environment. We see a man around his age lunge at him. Beldam using a blast of psychic energy pushes him back forcefully. The man fires back another beam of energy at him weakening Beldam. Beldam then summons two purple tentacle like objects ensnaring the man causing great pain, efficiency subduing him. Beldam lets out a cocky laugh

 

Beldam: “You almost got me. You almost managed to foil my plan. But soon I won’t have to worry about you.”

 

The man still stuck decides to speak

 

?: “This isn’t right. We do deserve equality and fairness but we can’t allow ourselves to treat the others like we’ve been treated or we are no better than them.” 

Beldam: “All of our lives, we were treated as outcasts. As the weird freak, pretty soon, I, we will have the power to make things right in the world and get the love and respect we deserve. However I get you still choose to be ignorant.”

?: “I’m not being ignorant. I have a conscience. I will stop you and get my body back.”

Beldam: “Always so difficult Peter, but let me ask you this, even if you do get control will the world still accept you? Will you still be loved? Will Guardian still accept you?”

 

Peter is in a sadden silence. 

 

Beldam: “Exactly. Now if you excuse me, I’d like to enjoy my sleep.”

 

 

Back at the Alpha Flight headquarters, Jean watches TV glumly. The show tells the story of a gay man struggling to fit in. Snowbird rushes in the room to pull him into a group meeting.

 

Guardian: Why are we having a group meeting right now?

Snowbird: Me and Walter have been watching the news, and bombs have went off at Pius Industries.

Puck: And why does that involve us?

Walter: When you zoom in the photo, you see a blurry image of what appears to be Cactus.

Shaman: So what are we waiting for? Let’s go. 

 

The group hurries outside with a confused Jean, but they quickly stop at the lab.

 

Sasquatch: Everyone grab a wrist communicator. 

Jean: So what type of vehicle we using? A stealth jet? A trailblazing sports car?

Guardian: Nope. Shaman, show him.

 

Shaman extends his bag and throws it over everyone. Inside the bag, it’s a field of green, blue and purple colors with everyone flying at supersonic speeds.

 

Jean: So the bag teleports?

Puck: Yeah. Obviously.

Shaman: We are about to arrive at our destination, prepare for impact in 3...2...1.

 

The group falls out of the bag and into the entrance of Pius Industries. Guardian splits the group up into two, with him, Jean and Snowbird on recon, while Sasquatch, Shaman and Puck take the offensive. After searching around the building, Sasquatch, Puck and Shaman finds Beldam’s henchmen stealing machinery equipment.

 

Hot-Streak: Boys, we’ve been made. 

 

Hot-Streak creates a smokescreen and the three henchmen escape. Shaman sucks up the smoke into his bag. Sasquatch grabs his wrist communicator. 

 

Sasquatch: We found Beldam’s lackeys, I’m giving you our location.

 

The group manages to corner them into an alley. Cactus sees a manhole and grabs Multiple and Hot-Streak and jumps down into the sewers. Alpha Flight continues to chase them down the sewers. However Multiple manages to make numerous clones of himself to distract them. Sasquatch finds the real one but before he can do anything, Beldam appears and uses his psychic powers to fling Alpha Flight into the sewer water. Jean and Guardian fly after Beldam and chase him. Sasquatch leaps out of the water and punches Cactus square in the jaw. Snowbird turns into a bear and fights off Multiple and Hot-Streak while Puck uses his strength to easily fight off the Multiple clones. Shaman uses his bag to pull out a staff and helps Sasquatch take out Cactus. Cactus stabs Sasquatch and creates two large spikes and jousts with Shaman. 

 

Meanwhile, Beldam takes on Guardian and Jean, Jean blast a ray of energy while Beldam counters it. Guardian powers his fists with energy and punches Beldam. Beldam takes all the attacks and him and throws it back at the two of them knocking Jean back into the sewers. Jean helps subdue Cactus using his speed to his advantage by effective distracting, and the group easily defeats Multiple and Hot-Streak. Guardian and Beldam are still fighting but Beldam gains the upper hand and disarms Guardian. Jean manages to be an even match until he loses control of his powers and falls, luckily Puck catches him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jean comes back in and manages to even the score sending Beldam crashing into the ground and is worn out.

 

Guardian: Beldam, it is time for you to surrender. 

 

Beldam has another episode confusing everyone managing to send a strong enough energy burst that knocks everyone else except for Jean and Guardian and grabs Guardian.

 

Peter/Beldam: Brother, you must help me.

Guardian (choking up): Peter, is that you?

 

 

Reserved

Edited March 10, 2018 by YourMother the Edgelord

[Hiccup23]

Dark Side

Date- February 8th

Genre- Romantic Drama

Rating- R- strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for strong language

Theaters- 3,216 theaters

Budget- 30 million

Running Time- 105 minutes or 1 hour and 45 minutes

Studio- O$corp Pictures

Director- James Foley

Producer- Arnon Milchan

Original Score- Danny Elfman

Actors/Actresses

Tyler- Casey Cott

Hunter- Colton Haynes

Nicole- Margot Robbie

Adam- Grant Gustin

Prince Abdul- Shekib Samimi

 

Plot: (Note to the Reader: The plot is R-rated and contains strong language and strong sexual content. Just giving you a heads up before you read.)

 

Spoiler

The film opens with Tyler and Hunter sitting on a plane. Tyler says it will be weird to be back in America since they have been gone for months largely without any contact with their family or friends. Hunter says it was good to get away even if their reason for leaving was not the best. Tyler looks at Hunter with a serious face and asks about Nicole. Hunter tells Tyler not to worry. He says right now all that matters is him and Tyler. He tells Tyler to worry about planning the wedding rather than on Nicole. Tyler laughs and says, “Oh, so I am the one who has to plan the wedding...great!” Hunter laughs. He says he will promise to help. Tyler laughs and says he better because Hunter is gonna pay for it. The two laugh.

 

Dark Side

 

The plane touches down and Tyler and Hunter after grabbing their luggage walk to leave the airport. As they walk, Hunter turns on his phone. He suddenly stops walking and his face looks serious. Tyler asks him what is wrong. Hunter just stands in shock looking at his phone. Tyler grabs the phone out of Hunter’s hand and sees a text from Hunter’s mother. It reads that Hunter needs to come home because his father has passed away. Tyler grabs Hunter’s hand and squeezes it tightly. Hunter is in a state of shock. Tyler tells Hunter they should go. Hunter nods. As they leave, they are approached by a man who introduces himself as an employee of Hunter’s father. He calls Hunter, Mr. Pierce and tells him they need to come with him. They follow and the man shows them to a limo. He says he will drive them to Hunter’s house. They climb in and drive off. Hunter says he can’t believe this is happening. He asks what happened. The man says Hunter’s father passed away in his sleep probably from a brain aneurysm. Hunter asks about his mother and how she is dealing with it. The man says she is a Pierce. Hunter smiles. They arrive at the Pierce mansion. Hunter climbs out and greets his mother and they embrace. Tyler helps the man gather their luggage and bring it in. Tyler hugs Mrs. Pierce and gives his sympathies. Mrs. Pierce tells Hunter they need to talk about funeral plans and the will. Tyler shares he can unpack their stuff. He and Hunter kiss and Hunter walks off with his mother.

 

The film follows Mrs. Pierce and Hunter over the next few days as they prepare for the funeral and meeting with their family lawyer to go over the will. Hunter is now in control of the massive Pierce business empire. Mrs. Pierce will retain the Pierce mansion and Hunter will get the second Pierce mansion, which lies off the Atlantic Ocean. The film moves to the funeral. It is a rainy and dreary day. Both Hunter and Tyler are dressed in all black suits. After a formal ceremony, Tyler and Hunter both stand overlooking the grave in the rain. Tyler asks if Hunter misses his father. Hunter says they had a strained relationship, but he is happy they reconciled in the end. Hunter says he has forgiven his father for what he did. He says everybody has a dark side to them, he says he would know more than anybody. Tyler nods solemnly. They stand in silence. Hunter gives a small laugh and says, “Well my father did up stage our engagement announcement!” Tyler gives a nervous chuckle, not sure if he should be laughing or not. Hunter takes a deep breath and turns to Tyler. He gives him a kiss. He says, “Well, you ready to see our new home?” Tyler says yes and smiles.

 

The film moves to Hunter and Tyler pulling up to a massive and stunning mansion overlooking the ocean. Tyler steps out of the Audi R8 and walks up to the mansion. Hunter opens the door and Tyler is taken back by the grandeur of the place.  Tyler says he can’t believe this is Hunter’s place. Hunter smirks and says, “No love, it is yours.” Tyler smiles and him and says he can’t believe this will be his home. Hunter shows him the massive mansion. They walk up the winding stairs and Hunter shows Tyler the massive bedroom overlooking the backyard. The master bathroom has a massive golden bathtub in it. Tyler is in awe at the magnificence of the place he will call home. Downstairs Hunter shows him a massive indoor pool with waterfall. A sauna is also attached. Tyler sees at the end of the pool a board rising out of the water. He turns to Hunter and asks what the board is for. Hunter asks if Tyler wants to find out. Tyler with a smirk on his face (he already has a clue) says yes. Hunter walks over by Tyler and shoves him into the water. Tyler surfaces and asks what the fuck that has to do with the board. Hunter smiles and jumps in. He grabs Tyler and the two passionately make out in the water. Hunter unbuttons his pants and tells Tyler to take a big breath. Tyler does and Hunter shoves Tyler’s head underneath the water. Tyler grabs Hunter’s erect cock and begins to suck Hunter off under the water. Hunter moans in pleasure. At a few minutes of this, Hunter grabs Tyler and pushes him up against the side of the pool. He rips off Tyler’s pants and ties Tyler’s hands back with his belt. Tyler bends over and Hunter begins to lick Tyler’s asshole and finger it forcefully. Tyler moans in pleasure. Tyler’s moans grow louder and louder as Hunter becomes more and more aggressive. Hunter then stops and spins Tyler around. He asks if Tyler is ready for the board. Tyler nods. Hunter slaps Tyler and asks if he is ready. Tyler says, “Yes, sir.” Hunter says, “That is more like it. Every morning you will wake up and come down here ready to please me. You will address me as master or sir. Understand?” He strikes Tyler again. Tyler smirks and says, “Yes, sir.” Hunter then kisses Tyler passionately and begins to bite him down the neck. He makes his way to Tyler’s nipples and begins to play with them. Tyler throws his head back in pleasure. Hunter then grabs Tyler from around the neck (choking him but not too hard as to cause him to get no air) and drags him to the board. Tyler squirms to get out of the choke hold smirking all the while as he enjoys it. Hunter throws Tyler against the board. He pulls out from behind the board some restraints and ties Tyler to the board. He makes sure Tyler is stretched out and that the restraints are tight but not so much as to hurt Tyler. After restraining Tyler, he asks if it feels okay. Tyler responds with, ‘Yes sir.” Hunter says good. He then grabs a flogger flail and strike Tyler on the stomach. Tyler’s abs tighten as he squirms in pain. Hunter continues harder and harder. Tyler squirms around in pleasure/pain and his sounds grow louder. Hunter reaches for his own cock and begins to jerk it. Pre-cum floats in the water from both of them.  Hunter then reaches up and chokes Tyler while continuing to flog him. Tyler pants heavily. Hunter removes his hand from Tyler’s neck. Tyler says, “Holy fuck, I am close Hunter.” Hunter stops and looks at Tyler. He says that Tyler broke the rule and didn’t call him sir or master. Tyler asks what he is gonna do. Hunter says Tyler must be punished. Hunter tightens the restraints further and Tyler grunts in pain. He then strikes Tyler hard with the flog on the chest and stomach. Tyler moans and begins to pant deeply. Hunter strikes him harder and harder. Tyler’s eyes begin to tear up and his breathing is rapid. Tyler’s face says it all. He is in pain. Hunter appears to care less as he continues to punish Tyler. Tyler finally says the safe word and Hunter stops. Tyler says he is sorry and that he couldn’t take it. He says his arms and stomach hurt bad. We see bright red marks on his body. Hunter immediately removes the restraints. He then sets the flog down on the side of the pool. He grabs Tyler and kisses him gently. The two kiss. Hunter says Tyler did a good job putting up with the pain. Tyler smiles and says hopefully next time he can please Hunter more. Hunter says he already is pleased. Tyler says they aren’t finished and turns over. Hunter smiles. Hunter warms Tyler back up with his fingers and then he inserts his cock into Tyler’s asshole. The two fuck. Afterward, Tyler and Hunter shower together and clean each other off. It is getting dark and Hunter cooks a meal for Tyler in the kitchen. While eating the two sit in the theater room and watch The Parvelli Reunion. Tyler asks Hunter if their lives are as fucked up and dramatic as the characters in the movie. Hunter laughs and says no. Tyler and Hunter after eating cuddle for the remainder of the film. Tyler eventually falls asleep. Hunter looks at Tyler lovingly. He strokes Tyler’s hair and says he can’t wait to marry him. He says he loves him and gently gives him a kiss before turning off the TV and caring Tyler to the bedroom.

 

The film jumps to the wedding day, we see a massive cathedral decorated glamorously. We people dressed elegantly walking into the cathedral. The camera moves to Tyler standing in the back changing room. He looks in the mirror nervously and puts on his jacket. Adam walks into the room and asks if Tyler is ready. Tyler says he is so nervous. He asks Adam what if he passes out or stutters. Adam laughs and says it will not happen. He says Tyler is gonna be fine and just to embrace the excitement of marrying the man he loves. Tyler gives Adam a hug and says he is the best best-man and friend a guy could ask for. Adam says laughs and says thanks. He asks if Hunter is ready. Adam says Hunter is just finishing up and the wedding will start in about 15 minutes. Tyler asks if he can have some time to collect his thoughts and read over his vows. Adam says sure and leaves. Tyler sits in a chair looking into a mirror. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He says he can do this. He says this is all he ever wanted. He hears the door open behind him. He turns around and sees Hunter. Tyler tells Hunter they aren’t supposed to see each other because it is bad luck. Hunter laughs and tells Tyler to calm down. Hunter looks at Tyler and says, “You are so handsome. How did I get so lucky?” Tyler smiles and says, “Oh you were persistent and eventually wore me down.” Hunter laughs and tells him to shut up. The two kiss. Tyler pulls back and says, “Omg, I thought we were saving our first kiss for the alter!” Hunter plays along with the joke and acts shocked. They joke about waiting until marriage for sex. Hunter then asks if Tyler’s uncle and aunt know about their BDSM relationship. Tyler punches Hunter playfully in the chest and tells him to stop. Hunter laughs. Hunter says pretty much nobody knows about their kinky relationship. Tyler says it should probably stay that way. Hunter laughingly agrees. Hunter looks at his watch and says it is time. He gives Tyler another kiss.  

 

The camera moves to the cathedral nave where we see family and guest seated. Hunter stands at the altar awaiting Tyler. (Song Begins)

 

 

The wedding party enters and makes their way down the nave to the altar. The heavy wooden doors open and Tyler appears escorted by his aunt and uncle. The attendants rise and stand. Tyler walks down the aisle and walks up the altar. After giving a hug and kiss to his uncle and aunt, Tyler and Hunter grab hands and stand facing each other. The priest gives an opening prayer and opening liturgy. He blesses the union of Hunter and Tyler. Hunter and Tyler then give their touching vows. Adam hands Tyler and Hunter the rings. Tyler and Hunter both put the rings on each other’s fingers slowly. The priest then announces Hunter and Tyler Pierce. The crowd erupts in applause and cheering as Tyler and Hunter kiss. They then turn to the crowd and hold up their hands. (Song ends).

 

Tyler suddenly spies a familiar figure in the back of the church standing up. It is Nicole. She is in all black with a veil hiding her face. Tyler recognizes her. His face turns from joy to shock. Hunter doesn’t notice and suddenly sweeps Tyler off his legs. Hunter begins to carry Tyler out of the cathedral. Tyler panicked looks again for Nicole but doesn’t see her. Hunter carries Tyler out of the cathedral and the crowd cheers happily. Outside of the cathedral, Tyler wants to tell Hunter about seeing Nicole but after seeing the joy on Hunter’s face decides to wait until later. The two thank the guests from coming as the guests exit the cathedral. Tyler doesn’t see Nicole anywhere.

 

The film moves to the reception dinner later that evening, we a beautiful reception with ice sculptures and a live band. In the joy of the festivities Tyler forgets about Nicole. We see the normal wedding reception festivities (toasts, speeches, and dancing). With the night getting late, Tyler and Hunter leave. The walk down a candle light walkway while the crowd claps and cheers. At the end, Tyler asks Hunter where the car is. Hunter says they are going straight to their honeymoon. We hear the sound of a helicopter overhead. Tyler smiles and say, “I can’t believe you right now.” The helicopter lands and Hunter and Tyler get in. Once up in the air, Hunter tells Tyler to look out the wind. We see fireworks light up behind them. Tyler and Hunter kiss as the fireworks light up the sky in a stunning display. The helicopter lands at a private landing strip. Hunter’s family private jet sits on the runway. Tyler and Hunter leave the helicopter and enter the plane. Tyler marvels at the beauty of the aircraft. Hunter tells Tyler that this is his as much as it is Hunters. He tells Tyler that they are married and will share everything. Tyler kisses Hunter and says he wishes he had something to give Hunter. Hunter looks at Tyler and says he already has. The two make out in the private jet as it flies through the night sky.

 

The film moves to the the plane landing in the Caribbean.  We follow Hunter and Tyler on their honeymoon. They lay on the beach, go scuba diving, drink of luxury boats, and have sex. One evening, we see Hunter and Tyler in their hotel suite. They are making out and slowly getting underdressed. Hunter goes and lights some candles and turns off the lights. He and Tyler make out passionately (completely nude) in the candle light. Hunter then moves to the bed and straps Tyler to it. He then kisses Tyler down the neck, chest, and stomach biting him gently. Tyler moans in pleasure. Hunter then grabs a flogger and asks if Tyler is ready. Tyler says yes. We see Hunter flog Tyler getting hard and hard with each blow. Tyler moans in pleasure and cringes in pain. Hunter then stops and blindfolds Tyler.  We then see him grab one of the candles. Tyler can hear Hunter’s movements and his body tenses awaiting Hunter’s next move. Hunter drips the candle wax slowly on Tyler’s abs and chest. Tyler’s body clenches at the hot touch. Tyler breathes deeply, enjoying the hot stinging feelings. After minutes of this, Hunter then straddles Tyler and begins to face fuck him. Tyler gags as Hunter roughly fucks him in his mouth. They eventually both climax together. Hunter cums all over Tyler’s face. Hunter then leans down and licks it off Tyler’s face. Hunter then removes the blindfold and undoes the restraints. He asks if Tyler is ready for round two. Tyler smiles back and says he is definitely ready. Hunter then roughly flips Tyler over and begins to eat him out. Tyler breathes deeply with pleasure. The screen goes black.

 

With the honeymoon over, Tyler and Hunter return to their home. We see them decorate and design the mansion into their own personal style. Hunter also begins work at the Pierce Company. His new office is located in New York City and he travels by private jet to work from their home in Rhode Island. He is often gone for days as work is demanding and stressful for him. We see coworkers, company executives, and investors have doubts if Hunter can handle the important role of CEO mostly because of his young age. Hunter and Tyler often share longs conversations about Hunter’s job. Hunter feels insecure and doubtful if he is making the right decisions. Tyler becomes Hunter’s shoulder to rely on. Hunter also shields Tyler away from the dealings of the company and doesn’t let Tyler come see him at work. He wants to keep Tyler out of the limelight. Tyler meanwhile continues to work at his old job. After a suggestion from a coworker, Tyler gets a dog to keep him company when Hunter is gone. Hunter finds out and is joyfully surprised by the adorable dog. He says Tyler is making it hard for him to go to work. While Hunter is back, the two decide to merge their finances. With Hunter busy with work constantly, Tyler becomes largely in charge of the household finances. This is the first time it full strikes Tyler how wealthy he and Hunter are. While he enjoys his job, he begins to find himself quickly losing interest in it. He finds himself wanting to stay at home decorating  or going to the country club to sit at the pool, golf or go sailing.

 

After a few weeks, Tyler eventually decides to quit his job. The following day, he decides to surprise Hunter at his office in New York City. Hunter has been gone all week and Tyler misses him. Tyler takes the private jet to New York City. After landing, Tyler heads to Hunter’s office. Tyler arrives and is stopped by the receptionist. He says he is here to see Hunter. She asks if he has an appointment. Tyler looks at her and says, ‘I am his husband, I don’t need appointments.” She is about to say something but Tyler walks past her. He enters the office area and sees people busily working. They stop when they see him and begin to whisper. Tyler walks with his head high, feeding on their attention. A man walks up to Tyler and says, “Mr. Pierce, it is good to finally meet you. We all have been wondering when we would finally meet you!” Tyler smiles and asks where Hunter is. The man points him to Hunter’s office. Tyler walks in and shuts the door. Hunter looks up in surprise. He asks why Tyler is here. Tyler says he decided to quit his job and come surprise Hunter at his office. Hunter says he is definitely surprised but shows concern on Tyler quitting his job. Tyler says he was sick of it and it wasn’t the right fit for him. He assures Hunter that it is only temporary and he will find a new on. Hunter doesn’t seem to buy it full but doesn’t let Tyler see that. Tyler asks why Hunter never showed him work. He says the people seem nice and he feels like he is a celebrity here. Hunter smiles and tells Tyler to sit. He says the corporate world can be a challenge especially for them since they are young and also gay. He says he wanted to shield Tyler from the spotlight, executives, and the media. He says he wants to have some sense of a normal life. Tyler says he understands but says that he can handle himself. He says just because he didn’t grow up in the same world as Hunter doesn’t mean that he can’t take on the challenges of such a lifestyle. Hunter says okay. He asks if Tyler wants to get fully involved and play the important role of his spouse. Hunter says basically Tyler will become the second most powerful person in the company and be Hunter’s chief advisor. Hunter says this is the role his mother played when his father lead the company. He says Tyler will host events and meet very powerful and influential people. Tyler says he accepted that role the minute he married Hunter. Hunter smiles and the two kiss. Hunter says next week he is flying out to Dubai to have an important and key meeting with some Middle Eastern businessmen and princes. He says this meeting is vital for the company and expanding them into the Middle Eastern market. He asks if Tyler wants to join him. Tyler says he definitely does and the two kiss again. Tyler says he wants to be there to support Hunter in this business deal. Tyler also with a smirk on his face says he also come to see Hunter to christen the office. Hunter objects saying he has work to do and can’t have sex at work. Tyler walks over and locks the door. He walks over by the windows. The office is located high in the air and away from outsider viewers. Tyler drops his pants and he is wearing a jockstrap. He begins to play the role of a secretary. Hunter at first tries to tell Tyler to stop but eventually is so turned on, he begins to play along. They role play Tyler as a dumb blond secretary and Hunter as the boss.

 

Song Begins to play

 

Hunter bends Tyler over and spanks him harshly. Tyler moans in pleasure. Hunter and Tyler continue to role play while they fuck on Hunter’s desk. Tyler cums and then deepthroats Hunter’s cock as Hunter cums down his throat. Afterward the two kiss. Hunter says that was needed. Tyler laughs and says he is glad he could help. After getting dressed, the two clean up Hunter’s office. Hunter tells Tyler to stay for the rest of the day. He says he will finish up work while Tyler explores the city. He says then he and Tyler can go get dinner. Tyler says that sounds perfect. The film moves later to the two on a date at an expensive restaurant. They share a bottle of champagne and cheers to Hunter’s good luck going forward with the company and Tyler’s more public role.

 

The film moves to a shot of Dubai from the air. We see Tyler looking out the window of the private jet over the majestic and modern city. Hunter meanwhile is talking with his execs as they strategize their deal. The plane lands and Hunter and Tyler exit the plane. They are greeted by several powerful businessmen and Saudi princes. Hunter greets them with his classic confident attitude. Tyler on the other hand is more awkward and self conscious. He awkwardly smiles at them while shaking their hands. They are lead to a black limo which heads to a massive and stunning skyscraper. While in the limo, Hunter asks how Tyler is. Tyler says he is nervous and feels like he is out of his element. Hunter says if it gets uncomfortable he can always go back to the plane. Tyler smiles. They exit the limo and are escorted to the office at the top of the skyscraper. When at the top Tyler is amazing by the view and appears excited. He begins to chat to the businessman and princes about how nice the building is. Hunter meanwhile is focused on the deal and is talking with his advisors. We see the Saudi princes talk among themselves and point at Tyler. They find Tyler’s more down to earth personality interesting and unique from the usual Americans they see. Hunter needing Tyler, tries to motion for him to come over. Tyler is too busy walking around and doesn't notice. The others notice however and find it amusing. Hunter fed up finally walks over to Tyler and tells him he needs him. Tyler nods and is pulled away with Hunter. Hunter, Tyler, and their advisors chat in a private room. Hunter will work out the deal with his advisors while Tyler  will chat with the Saudi princes. The princes aren't actually negotiating since the businessmen are doing it for them. Tyler's job is to keep them excited about investing with the Pierce Company. Hunter asks if Tyler has it. Tyler nods and says he does. Hunter and his advisors then move to the conference room to work out the deal. Tyler leaves and heads back out to the main room.

 

Tyler and the princes talk in the main room. Tyler is nervous and seems out of place. He constantly looks at his watch hoping for this to be over. A prince who introduces himself to Tyler. He says he is tells Tyler that they are very excited to do business with the Pierce Company and Hunter. He says he looks forward to their professional relationship. He adds it is good to meet Hunter’s good friend. Tyler says that he isn’t Hunter’s friend. The prince smirks and says, “Well Tyler, what do you think you two are, husbands?” He laughs. Tyler’s face narrows and he gets close to the prince and says, “You will address me as Mr. Pierce.” He then tells the prince that he will inform Hunter of this offense and Hunter will surely pull out of the deal. He says the prince will have to go back home to his backward fucking desert country while he and Hunter will go back to America to their life of luxury. They lock eyes until the prince looks away. The prince backs off and says something in Arabic to the others. They leave the room. As they leave, we see a young prince lock eyes with Tyler.

 

After a few minutes, Hunter storms into the room. He asks what happened. Tyler shocked by this change of events tries to explain but Hunter cuts him off saying that the deal has failed because the princes no longer want to do business because of Tyler’s remarks. Tyler tries to explain but Hunter doesn’t want to hear it. He says it was a bad idea to suddenly throw Tyler into all of this. Tyler says he is so sorry and says he is gonna leave. He says he was just standing up for him and Hunter. Hunter says they will talk later. He says he needs to go do damage control. He walks away. Tyler stands there briefly. He kicks a chair in frustration. He says he needs a fucking drink and leaves the room. As he heads toward the elevator he is intercepted by the young prince. The prince introduces himself as Prince Abdul. He says he found Tyler amusing in the room. Tyler tells him to fuck off. Prince Abdul stands in front of Tyler. He says says normally he needs to travel overseas to feed his sexual appetite but maybe he and Tyler can work out a deal. Tyler says he is married and not going to have sex with him. Prince Abdul says that if Tyler does this, he will make sure the business deal goes through. Tyler says no and tells him to move. Prince Abdul grabs Tyler’s crotch and whispers in Tyler’s ear. He says nobody needs to know and think of the long term benefits. He says it will be a one time thing and will mean the world to Hunter. He says Tyler will have sealed the deal. He says Tyler and Hunter can return home successful and resume their married life. Tyler pauses. The elevator door opens and Prince Abdul drags Tyler in. The doors close and Tyler and Prince Abdul begin to make out. Tyler grows more and more confident as they kiss. The doors open on an abandoned floor and the two exit. They continue to make out. Tyler seductively undresses for the prince while he jerks his cock. Tyler and Prince Abdul have sex. Afterward, in the elevator Tyler says they have a deal. Prince Abdul nods. He says he will stand by his words. Tyler leaves the building and heads back to the plane. The camera moves to a woman in a covered in a burka. The wind blows and we see Nicole’s face under the burka. She smiles and gets in a cab.

 

Tyler waits restlessly at the plane pacing back and forth. Eventually Hunter arrives in a good mood and says they closed the deal. He says one of the princes convinced the others to go in on it. He says apparently Tyler said something the prince that helped change their minds. He asks what Tyler said. Tyler pauses and says, “Oh just stuff you know.” He laughs trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. Hunter pops a bottle of wine and says he wants to know the details. He fills two wine glasses. Tyler justs says he apologized and the prince appeared to accept it. He says other than that nothing really went down. Hunter gives Tyler one of the glasses of wine and tells him to sit. The plane lifts off into the air. Hunter kisses Tyler and says Tyler has pleased him. Tyler smiles and says he would do anything for Mr. Pierce. Hunter downs his glass of wine and says he can’t wait any longer. He tells Tyler to finish the glass and Tyler does so. Hunter instructs Tyler to knee in front of him. He tells grabs Tyler face and gentle caresses it. He says he is proud of Tyler. Tyler says, “Thank you sir.” The two kiss.

 

(Song Plays)

 

Hunter pulls Tyler up and the two undress. They continue to passionately make out. Hunter then instructs Tyler to lay on the ground. Tyler does so. Hunter pours the bottle of wine of Tyler’s chest, abs, and crotch. Hunter then knees next to Tyler and begins to suck the wine off Tyler’s body. He starts at Tyler’s chest and nipples. He then gently makes his way down Tyler’s abs and lower abdomen. Tyler moans in pleasure and his body shakes. Hunter then begins to play with Tyler’s wine soaked balls and cock. Tyler’s moans grow louder and louder as his body shakes from the pleasure. He finally cums. Hunter grabs his own cock and jerks off on Tyler’s abs. He then takes his finger and drags it in the semen. He then reaches up and puts his fingers inside of Tyler’s mouth. Tyler licks the semen off Hunter’s fingers. The two kiss.

 

The film moves to Tyler and Hunter back in New York City. We see the company has surged in profit and on Wall Street since the deal. We see the news is buzzing about Hunter and Tyler. They are being hailed as the future of American business. We see them have a photoshoot and end up on the cover of Forbes Magazine. Tyler is relishing in the new found fame. Tyler while enjoying the fame, struggles with changes because of it in his life. We see him getting use to have media photographing him and needing escorts to the simplest of places. He also addresses interviewers, the media, business execs, and investors with a snarky, outspoken, and blunt attitude. The media and interviews love it. Tyler begins to get more interviews than Hunter. He quickly becomes the face of the company. He earns the name “white trash billionaire”. Tyler embraces this image. Execs within the Pierce Company begin to strongly dislike Tyler. They warn Hunter privately that Tyler’s unique personality will ultimately harm the company. Hunter tells them he will speak with Tyler.  We see a discussion during dinner between Tyler and Hunter. Hunter stresses that Tyler need to put on a good image for the press. Tyler disagrees and says he is going to be his authentic self even if it doesn’t come across as a “good” image. Hunter says it can give the company and their name negative publicity. Tyler says, “All publicity is good. We get interviews and media coverage because we stand out from the norm.” Hunter disagrees and he is unable to change Tyler’s mind.

 

Also Tyler during this time, purchases a penthouse on the 90th floor on a skyscraper downtown. The interior is solid gold and it is incredibly expensive. Hunter is opposed, but Tyler manages to convince him since he sees it as an excuse to be closer to Hunter while Hunter is in New York City. The media learns about the expensive purchase and during an interview, they drill Tyler on using company profits to benefit himself. The interviewer also questions Tyler’s role in the company.

 

Interviewer: “So Tyler, you purchased a penthouse worth $200 million here in New York City, why?”

Tyler: “Well, I wanted to be closer to my husband and the business. You know a 60 minute commute is not fun.”

Interviewer: “True, but the Pierce Mansion is worth $400 million. You don’t think that is excessive? You paint yourself as an “everyday” type of guy but in reality you are not. Do you not see that as hypocritical?”

Tyler: “Well that is your opinion. I am fine with it even though it is false.”

Interviewer: *laughs* “You are a piece of work!”

Tyler: “Listen, I am who I am. If you think I am a hypocrite great, then think that. If you like me, even better.”

Interviewer: “Okay. Now you advise your husband in business affairs even though you lack experience in business. Executives within the company doubt your abilities. What do you think of that?”

Tyler: “I mean who walks into a job and knows exactly what to do? You learn as you go. Did you know everything about hosting a talk show when you got this job?”

Interviewer: “Well this isn’t about me. You are dodging the question. What experience do you bring to the company?”

Tyler: *laughs sarcastically* “Dodging the question? I am not answering a bogus question like that. Yeah, I am not gonna lie, higher ups in the company don’t like me. They want somebody they can control and be the cute “stepford wife”.That isn’t me. I am staying true to myself. Honestly, fuck them.”

Interviewer: “Okay, let’s remember to watch our language.”

Tyler: *makes a mocking face*

Interviewer: “People say your got your rough attitude from your upbring. You didn’t grow up in a traditional household like Hunter. Do you think that is why you have this attitude?”

Tyler *baffled* “Yeah, I didn’t grow up in the ideal family. My dad left shortly afterward I was born. My mother struggled with alcoholism and died in a car accident. But I mean everybody has baggage. My uncle and aunt might not have been well off but they cared for me.”

Interviewer: “You just grew up so differently than your husband.”

Tyler: *Looks at camera* “You know, I don’t need to sit here. You are being incredibly rude to a guest. Every question you give me, you try to tear me down. You are pitting me against my husband. Look, you have me on here during prime time because I bring in viewers and revenue for you all. I say yes, because I am a good person and I also make money from doing this. But you have disrespected me with every question. Have a good night.” *Tyler flips off the camera and walks off.*

 

After this incident, Hunter demands that Tyler stay out of the spotlight since it is getting to him. Tyler at first refuses, but after seeing the media begin to swarm on unfavorable clips of the interview gives in to Hunter. Tyler agrees to returns permanently to their mansion in Rhode Island and leaves the penthouse behind. Tyler enjoys quiet activities like swimming, interior decorating the mansion, and hosting small parties at the Pierce Mansion. However, he also begins to develop a Youtube channel dedicated to vlogging and still reaching the public. Hunter is unaware of this. Hunter meanwhile is getting busier and busier with his job. We see Tyler and Hunter see each other less often and their relationship is growing less exciting. They still are committed but the honeymoon phase is clearly over.  

 

The film moves to Hunter sitting in his office one day. The door opens and he hears the sound of high heels hitting the floor. The door shuts. Hunter looks up and sees Nicole standing in front of him. He has a shocked look on his face and asks her what she is doing here. She says she is here to see him. She says she misses him. Hunter reaches for the phone to call security but she stops him. She says she is here to apologize. Hunter says she can’t just apologize for what she did. He says he is calling security and having her taken away. Nicole smirks at him and says she has a present for Hunter. She sits in the chair across from Hunter. She spreads her legs and lifts the, on the desk. It is revealed she is not wearing any underwear. She asks Hunter if he missed this. Hunter tries to look away and says no. He says he is married. She tells Hunter he can have all of this and points to her crotch. She then gets up and grabs Hunter’s hands and places them on her breasts. She gets close to Hunter and says she knows he wants just a taste. She kisses him gently on the cheek. Hunter pulls back and says no. Nicole realizing her seduction isn’t working, changes her mood. She tells Hunter his fairytale love story with Tyler isn’t all true. She tells Hunter that she saw Tyler hook up with a Saudi prince. She says that is the reason the deal went through. Hunter tells her Hunter wouldn’t do that and that is simply not true. He also asks if she has been stalking them. She laughs and says, “Well you said it. I am psycho.” Hunter says she is lying and not telling the truth. He asks why he should believe her. She lays across the desk, getting close to Hunter’s face. She says it is because she actually cares about him unlike Tyler. She says she knows what is good for him. Hunter sits back and tells her to get out of his office immediately. She says fine but tells him to ask Tyler about the Saudi prince. She says she is not lying but trying to look out for Hunter. She then opens the door and tells him she will see him. She then shuts the door and walks off smiling to herself. Hunter meanwhile closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He then resumes work trying to forget about what happened.

 

The film moves to Hunter later that evening returning since it is Friday and he is back for the long weekend. He finds Tyler in the kitchen cooking. They kiss and Tyler asks how Hunter’s day was. Hunter says mostly just the same old work. He then tells Tyler about Nicole showing up. Tyler stops preparing the food and asks what she wanted. Hunter says she tried to seduce him and then when that didn’t work he says she told him that he (Tyler) slept with a Saudi prince. Hunter laughs and says he told her that was ridiculously and false because (he) Tyler wouldn’t do that. Tyler smiles and says definitely. Hunter notices something seems off though. He says, “Right? It is false.” Tyler goes back to cooking trying not to make eye contact and says, “Yeah, you said it.” Hunter then tells Tyler it is sounding like he is hiding something. Tyler denies it. At a long pause, Hunter then says that Tyler did do it and Nicole was right. Tyler stops and looks at Hunter.

 

Tyler: “Look I did it for the company and for you. I knew how the deal meant to you. The prince came onto me and I resisted at first….but I then saw the opportunity and went with it. The company is flourishing and I was trying to help. It was wrong but I think the end justifies the means.”

Hunter: “But Tyler, we took a vow to only love each other. You broke that and then lied about it. I don’t know what to think.”

Tyler: “I haven’t cheat on you since. It was a one time thing. Let’s just move on.”

Hunter: “No, we aren’t moving on from this. This is a big deal. How am I going to trust you now? You cheated and lied. Now you want to act like nothing happened. What is wrong with you?!”

Tyler: “I did it for you and the company….”

Hunter:  (cuts him off) “No! The company isn’t an excuse. My job and company isn’t worth our marriage. Our marriage is so much more important and valuable to me.”

Tyler: “Well do you know how I felt using my body to help you? No!”

Hunter: “Serious? You had a choice. You know what bothers me more though. You aren’t sorry about it. You are trying to defend yourself and your actions. Listen, I have put up with your antics since we got married. I honestly don’t know what has gotten into you. It is like the worst aspects of you have come out. (sighs)  I can’t talk to you or even look at you right now. I think you need to leave.”

Tyler: “What? You are kicking me out?

Hunter: “Yeah.”

Tyler: “Fine! (slams spoon on the stove top) I will go!”

 

Hunter leans on the counter and buries his hands in his face. Tyler storms off. Several minutes pass and we see Tyler walks past Hunter who hasn’t moved. The door to the house slams shut. Hunter then gets up and runs toward the door shouting, “Wait!” But he is too late. He sees Tyler speed off down the driveway. Hunter slumps in the doorway and begins to cry. The film moves to Tyler speeding in the car. He calls Adam, who picks up. Adam asks what is up. Tyler asks what his plans are. Adam says nothing. Tyler tells him to pack some clothes because they are going on a vacation. Adam asks if everything is good. Tyler says everything is fine. He says he will be at Adam’s in a few minutes. They hang up. We see Tyler pull up to Adam’s apartment a few minutes later. Adam climbs in and asks where they are going. Tyler says Adam will find out because it is a surprise. Adam asks about Hunter. Tyler says they had a fight and he needs some space for the weekend. Adam says he is sorry to hear that and asks if Tyler wants to talk about it. Tyler says no. They after a few minutes of driving pull up to the Pierce private jet. Tyler parks the car and they walk up to the jet. Adam marvels at the beauty. They climb inside and sit down. A waiter comes out and pours them champagne. Tyler raises his glass and says to spontaneous friend trips. Adam laughs and they cheers. We see the plane lift off and fly through the night sky. Adam and Tyler meanwhile drink on the plane. Tyler tells Adam they are heading to Las Vegas for the long weekend since Adam doesn’t need to work on Monday. Adam asks how he got this all together so last minute. Tyler laughs and says, “Well guess it is one of the pros of being a Pierce.” They laugh and continue to party on the plane. .

 

The camera moves to a stunning shot of Las Vegas at night. The city is light up in a display of beautiful colors. We see Adam and Tyler in a black SVU being driven to the Bellagio. Both are intoxicated and continue to party in the vehicle. They arrive at the Bellagio and are escorted to the suite on the top floor. As they climb out, they are swarmed by paparazzi. Adam asks Tyler how they found them already here. Tyler gives a disdainful motion and look at the paparazzi and says they are like gnats. He flips them off. He and Adam head up to the suite. They change into dress clothes and prepare for a luxurious night of fun. While they change, Adam asks why Tyler brought him here. Tyler tells him that he and Hunter got into a bad argument and Hunter kicked him out. Tyler says he just needs a weekend away from Hunter. He says he doesn’t think he and Hunter are over. Adam says that it is good to walk away and think about things during arguments, but he questions Tyler decision to come to Las Vegas. Adam says he supports Tyler 100% but doesn’t want to get mixed up between Tyler and Hunter. Tyler tells him not to worry. Tyler also says Adam won’t be spending any money. He tells him he will pay for everything. Adam declines but Tyler eventually convinces him. At a few drinks and casual fun conversations, Tyler and Adam head out to the casino. By this time, we see that Tyler and Adam are both very intoxicated. As soon as they leave the building, the paparazzi appears and begins to take pictures. Adam and Tyler ignore them. They enter the casino and begin to gamble. They at first start with slots and have fun drinking and gambling. Eventually as the night progresses, they move to the tables and start playing high stakes games with other wealthy people. Adam doesn’t play but simply advises Tyler. Tyler grows more and more confident as he wins. During a break, Adam tells Tyler he is leaving to grab a drink. As Tyler sits drinking his martini, we see Nicole appear. She is dressed in a revealing and expensive gown. She sits next to Tyler. Tyler looks at her and says he knows she is stalking him. He says he saw her at his and Hunter’s wedding. Nicole laughs and says, “Well speaking for weddings, it seems like you told Hunter the truth about you hooking up with the Saudi prince. Guess Hunter didn’t take it too well?” Tyler tells her Hunter didn’t. Nicole turns to Tyler and says she is sorry for trying to kill him. She says she was just a jealous bitch. Tyler gives her a side eye and says, “Yeah. Sure.” She says it was weird that Tyler and Hunter didn’t call the police or even try to convict her. She tells him that she and Tyler are more alike than they think. She says both he and her are unpredictable, egotistical, snarky, and let wealth get to them. She says she actually likes Tyler. She says she knew the minute she met him, he was going to steal Hunter away from her. She cheers her glass to him. Tyler declines the cheers. Adam walks up and sees them. Nicole tells him hello. Adam awkwardly says hi. Nicole breaks an awkward silence and says she will play against Tyler. Adam tells her they are good and gonna head out. Tyler however says he is up to play against her. They begin to play and Tyler is easily beating her. He grows confident and soon gambles his share of the Pierce Company. Adam tells Tyler no, but Tyler says he has this. Nicole begins to win. In the final round, she raises the stakes and says Tyler will hire her as an advisor to the company. Tyler agrees. Adam tells Tyler this is a horrible idea. He says whatever happened between him and Hunter isn’t worth this. He says Tyler needs to fold and leave immediately. Tyler says he loves Adam like a brother but he needs to stay out of this. Adam gives up and orders another drink. After a tension few moments, Tyler beats Nicole. Nicole smiles and congratulates Tyler on his win. Tyler gives her a snarky remark and walks away with Adam. Nicole stands there smiling.

 

The film moves to Nicole walking to the paparazzi. We see her share with them about the relationship troubles between Hunter and Tyler. She also tells them about Tyler’s bets and how he sees the Pierce Company as a joke. She then tells the media that the Pierce Company is in danger of collapsing because of Tyler. She says Tyler is unhinged and vengeful against Hunter. She says Tyler might be mentally unstable. She says that investors should pull out of the company because it is unstable. Reporters question her credibility, but she reveals to them that she recorded her and Tyler’s gambling game. She also tells them to just look at Tyler tonight. The film moves to a very very intoxicated Tyler at a club with Adam. We see them doing shots and partying. Tyler dances on the dance floor with several men. We see the paparazzi take pictures of this. Adam begins to stop drinking since it is almost morning and they have been out all night and early morning. He begins to slowly realize how drunk Tyler is and that the paparazzi are noticing. He eventually manages to get Tyler who is almost passed out back to the suite. He and Tyler pass out.

 

The film moves to later that afternoon. We see Tyler waking up. He asks Adam what happened. He says he blacked out. Adam tells him what happened. Tyler groans and puts his head in the pillow. He says he fucked up bad. Adam tells Tyler he needs to go back immediately and have a talk with Hunter. He says Tyler kind of fucked things up bad last night. Tyler says at least he didn’t loss to Nicole. Adam agrees but says she apparently went to the media. Tyler says fuck. They flip on the TV. We see normal news at first. Tyler sighs and says it looks like it didn’t make the news. Just then, the news anchor brings up Tyler. We see pictures of Tyler’s night and Nicole’s interview. Tyler says, “Fuck, fuck fuck!” We see that the Pierce Company stock has plummeted since investors are pulling out. There are reporters Tyler has wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tyler opens his bank account and sees he spent only a few thousand dollars. He sighs, knowing that isn’t good but not terrible. Then he stops. Adam asks what is wrong. Tyler says he has the company’s credit card in his wallet. Adam says, “Oh shit.” Tyler then looks at receipts in his wallet. He sees he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars with the company card. Adam says this is bad. Tyler looks at his phone. He sees 14 missed calls from Hunter. He asks Adam if he should call Hunter back. Adam says that Tyler needs to talk face to face with Hunter. Tyler agrees and begins to pack. We see them leave the hotel and head to the black SVU. The paparazzi swarms them. They make a run for the car and hop in. Tyler tells Adam that he is sorry he roped him into all of this. Adam tells him not to worry. Tyler thanks him for trying to stop him last night. He apologizes for not listening. Adam accepts the apology. They arrive at the plane and it takes off. During the ride, we see Adam sleeping and Tyler just sits staring out the window in silence.

 

The film moves to Tyler driving up to the Pierce Mansion. He parks the car and walks up to the house. The door opens and we see Hunter standing there. Tyler walks in and Hunter closes the door. Tyler sets his stuff down on the floor and he and Hunter stare at each other. They are waiting for the first person to speak. Hunter breaks the silence and says that Tyler has wasted a ton of the Pierce fortune, embarrassed their name, and threatened the company. He says that people are beginning to think he is incompetent. Tyler just stands in silence. Hunter continues to rant angrily. He says he needs to go to New York and do damage control. He says that they are hosting a gala this weekend to assure investors that the company is stable. He says Tyler has a week to fix himself. He says they will talk after the gala and when he has calmed down. Tyler asks Hunter if he is going to divorce him. Hunter gives him a look and walks out of the house. Tyler sits on the coach and cries realizing the mess he made.

 

The film moves to the gala. The gala is glamorous and is a display of the volume of the Pierce wealth. Hunter wants to show investors, family members, and the media that the Pierce fortune is still alive. Hunter is busy mingling with people ahead of Tyler. Both he and Tyler arrived separately to the gala. Tyler arrives and is dressed in a golden suit coat and black pants. He stands at the top of the stairwell leading down to the gala. He says to himself, “Let’s do this.” He walks down the staircase to the party below. Cameras flash as he descends. Hunter looks up and watches Tyler come down. He walks over to the base of the stairs. There is a silence over the party. People are holding their breath to see what kind of Tyler they are getting tonight. Tyler makes his way to Hunter and gives him a kiss on the cheek. Hunter tries to play it off as it is romantic. People go “aww” and smile. Tyler grabs Hunter’s hand. He leans over and whispers to Hunter, “Don’t worry, tonight is your night. After this I’ll be gone and you can have your company and life back. I have already packed my things.” Tyler turns and smiles for the camera. Hunter tries to put on a smile. Tyler and Hunter mingle with people. We see people are curt and rude to Tyler. Hunter throughout the night overhears bashing Tyler. Hunter notices Tyler holding in his feelings of annoyance and humiliation. Hunter tries to get Tyler away so they can talk, but Tyler doesn’t want to. Eventually though, Tyler begins to grow overwhelmed and starts to drink. He retreats away from the crowd until Hunter finds him. He says they have to go address the crowd and answer questions. He asks if Tyler is okay, saying he looks upset. Tyler fakes a smile and says he is fine. He makes up that he has a headache. Hunter nods but doesn’t appear convinced. He and Tyler walk into of the crowd and thank them for coming and say they hope they are having a good time. Hunter briefly addresses the crowd saying he is looking forward to the future of the company and strengthening relationships with investors. Meanwhile, Tyler is looking nervous and anxious. He plays with his drink to stop from pacing around. Hunter says they will take any questions. Tyler looks up and gives Hunter a question of, “No please.” The first few questions are friendly and related to the business, however soon members of the media begin to ask personal questions in regards to Tyler and Hunter’s relationship. They talk about Tyler in a dismissive way and question if Hunter is going to leave Tyler. Hunter tries to work around the questions. A reporter turns to Tyler and tells him about Tyler’s rough past few months. He says that Tyler is ignorant and thinks the company is a joke. He then says, “So I hear you pimped yourself out to a Saudi prince to help close the deal in Dubai. What do you have to say for yourself? How many business deals has the Pierce Company closed by using sex?” Hunter is tongue tied and looks at Tyler. Tyler is visible shooken. He begins to mutter but can’t seem to speak.

 

*The camera moves to his POV* We see the crowd get blurry. We see him set his drink down and look around. The room is getting darker and blurrier. We see hear people’s voices and the sound of Tyler’s heart beating fast and faster. *POV ends*

 

Tyler looking pale and like he going to get sick, quickly walks toward the exit, pushing his way through people. Once outside, he makes a run for it. We see him run down the dark road, through a park, and eventually come to an intersection. He is out of breath and looks terrible. He can’t seem to get his breath and suddenly collapses. Tyler lies on the cold cement unconscious. A vehicle pulls up to the intersection and sees him lying on the ground. The driver climbs out and runs over. He calls 911 while trying to revive Tyler. Soon we see an ambulance on the scene.

 

The film moves back to the gala. The crowd is confused at Tyler’s sudden departure. Hunter tells his security that this is over and to get everybody out. Security begin to file people out. Hunter meanwhile runs outside and calls for Tyler. Not getting a response, we see him climb in his car and drive off to look for him. We see him drive down the dark roads. He tells himself Tyler couldn’t have gone far. He suddenly gets a call. He answers it and says, “Fuck.”

 

The film moves to Hunter arriving at the hospital. He quickly parks the car and runs inside. He finds a nurse and asks to see his husband. The nurse says Tyler can’t see anybody now, but she will let him know when Tyler can see people. Hunter goes to the waiting area and paces about. He grabs his phone and we see him calling somebody. We don’t hear the conversation. Hours later,, the nurse comes out and says Tyler is ready. Hunter follows the nurse anxiously to the room. Hunter enters the room and sees Tyler sitting up in the bed. He is pale and looks exhausted. Tyler gives his signature smirk at Hunter. Hunter pulls up a chair and sits next to Tyler. Hunter says, “So, what is going on?” Tyler says that he had built up anxiety, which when pair with his heart condition caused him to have a severer than normal heart palpitation. Hunter says, “No, no...not what happened tonight….what is going on? I am talking about Las Vegas, the interviews, and Dubai.” Tyler looks down and begins to play with his pulse oximeter. Tyler says to be honest, it is because he never felt good enough for Hunter. Tyler says he doesn’t know how to handle Hunter’s lifestyle and wealth. He says it was shocking but also so alluring. He says it just got to his head. He says he didn’t know how to handle the wealth and fame. He says that shock mixed with the fact he never felt good enough for Hunter caused him to channel his insecurities unhealthily. He says that everything just built up and between Las Vegas and the gala things just exploded. Hunter nods. Hunter asks why Tyler never talked to him about this. Tyler says that he was ashamed and thought Hunter would think badly of him or leave him. Hunter with tears in his eyes says, “No, you were always good enough.” Tyler asks Hunter where they are going to go from here. Hunter gives a sigh. Hunter says he quite the company. Tyler says, ‘what?!” in shock. Hunter says that he felt like he was losing Tyler to the company. He says he let running the company consume him and he neglected of looking out for Tyler. He says that right now all that matters is Tyler. He and Tyler kiss. Tyler says Hunter doesn’t need to do this. Hunter says that he wants to. Tyler looks at Hunter and says he is sorry for what he did. He says he is out of excuses. He says he hopes Hunter can forgive him. Hunter says he forgives Tyler. He says Tyler has forgiven him before. Hunter also apologizes for his wrongs. He says he will try to be a better husband. He and Tyler embrace.

 

*Months later*

 

The film moves to Tyler laying nude in a golden bathtub in the penthouse. Hunter stands over him naked as well. Tyler says they should celebrate them selling the penthouse and returning to a normal life. Hunter laughs and says he already thought ahead. He opens a bottle of champagne and pours it into the bathtub. Tyler smirks and grabs a bottle and does the same. Hunter and Tyler pour more and more champagne into the tub until it is full. Hunter climbs and with two glasses. He fills them and he and Tyler kiss. They drink their champagne and then begin to make out. We see them have sex in the golden bathtub.  

 

The film moves to the following day and Tyler is cleaning the penthouse alone. Hunter is gone at work. The film moves outside and we see Nicole walking up to the building. She enters the lobby and goes in the elevator up to the penthouse floor. Inside the penthouse, we see Tyler listening to “Evacuate the Dance Floor” while cleaning the apartment. Suddenly, the door burst open and Nicole appears. Before Tyler can react, she lunges at him. She begins to punch Tyler in the face. She says that she will have Hunter and she is here to finish what they started. She says she tried to play the game and corrupt them but they wouldn’t crack. She says she wants to be the rich hot wife. She says she has dreamed of it since she met Hunter. She says he belongs to her. She grabs a lamp and raises it up. She says she is here to finish Tyler off once and for all. She brings the lamp down, but Tyler manages to dodge it. Tyler manages to throw her off and the two fight. Nicole grabs objects from the kitchen and begin to throw them at Tyler. Tyler bloody from being struck in the face by Nicole, dodges the objects. He grabs a knife and throws it at Nicole. It strikes her in the shoulder. Tyler says, “Hurts to be stabbed, doesn’t it?!” Nicole clenches her teeth and ripes the knife out. She hurls it at Tyler who dukes quickly. Nicole runs at Tyler and the two fall backwards. Tyler and Nicole wrestle on the ground and fight. Tyler throws Nicole off of him and they both stand up. Tyler looks up at the chandelier above them. He runs and jumps on it. He kicks Nicole in the chest causing her to face backwards through the window. The window shatters as Nicole falls through it in slow motion. She however manages to grab on to the ledge. She dangles 90 floors above the busy street below. Tyler runs over and says she can end this. He reaches out to help. Nicole scoffs and says it is over. She says that Hunter and Tyler don’t need her. They will destroy themselves. She then lunges at Tyler to grab him. She misses and falls to the street below. Tyler grasps in horror as her mangled bloody body lies on the street. We see people scream in horror. Tyler crawls back from the window and calls the police. The film goes silent as we see police cars arrive at the tower. We see them enter the penthouse. Tyler sits on the floor in shock. We see Hunter enter and embrace Tyler. The police begin to close off the tower. Hunter asks what happened (audio resumes). Tyler says Nicole came over. Hunter and Tyler embrace. The cameras pans over the crime scene.

 

The film moves to Tyler and Hunter driving to their mansion. We see them unload their belongings from the penthouse and bring them into the mansion. Tyler goes to the shower to clean off as Hunter unpacks. The sun is setting over the ocean in a beautiful display of colors. Hunter drawn to the sunset walks out on the balcony. We see Tyler climb out of the shower and get changed. He walks out into the kitchen and sees Hunter standing on the balcony. He pours two glasses of wine and walks to the door. He stops at the door taking in the beautiful moment. He gives a voice over as we see Hunter standing on the balcony of the mansion. Hunter looks over the ocean as the sunsets. The camera pans over the waves as they crash over the shore. Gulls cry overhead.

 

Tyler says, “I don’t know if this will last. Maybe Nicole is right and we will be the end of each other. But maybe, just maybe we can have a happy ending. A love story ending we deserve. Life can be confusing and hard, but the thing that keeps us going is that one day, we will achieve happiness. As gay men especially, we want a happy love story. We all have struggled with our identity and just want to find the right man. We see it as validation of our struggles. The universe has brought Hunter and I together despite the odds. All I know now it that he is my husband and the love of my life. We love each other deeply and love never fails. For I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” We see Tyler turn toward the camera recognizing the audience and says, “Listen. Nobody is perfect. Hunter and I have had our ups and downs but…..Love is love. We love each other and what is so wrong with that?”

 

Tyler then walks out to Hunter and hands him a glass of wine. They embrace and look over the ocean. “My, My, My”

 

Credits Roll

 

Edited April 21, 2018 by Hiccup23

[cookie]

The Number One Dime

aka The Adventures of Scrooge McDuck 2

 

 

Studio: Cookie Pictures (Cookie Pictures Animation)

Genre: Traditional animation / adventure / action / comedy

Director: Mark Dindal

Producers: Sebastian Peters, Mark Dindal

Executive Producers: Joaquim Dos Santos, Matt Youngberg, Francisco Angones

Composers: Danny Elfman and John Debney, "DuckTales" theme by Walk the Moon

Release Date: December 20th

Format: 2D (2.35:1), IMAX 2D (1.43:1)

Theater Count: 4,200 (392 IMAX theaters in film, digital and laser prints)

Budget: $200 million

MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of peril, crude humor, frightening images and mild language

Running Time: 134 minutes (2 hours, 14 minutes)

Previous Film's Gross (OW/DOM/WW):

The Adventures of Scrooge McDuck - $75,619,894 / $304,214,771 / $915,998,515

IMAX: The entirety of the film is produced in the 1.43:1 IMAX aspect ratio (with resolution equivalent to that of 70mm film) and cropped to 1.90:1 on digital prints, then cropped further to 2.35:1 on standard prints. Audio is mastered in 6-track and 12-track IMAX format.

Animation: The film employs an art style similar to that of the previous film (inspired by the works of Don Rosa). As the film is produced in an IMAX ratio much of the film's imagery is made with the aspect ratio in mind and a higher emphasis on visual detail. While the character designs, base animation and environments are developed in 2D, 3D CGI is used extensively for complex character movements (in a small scale example, in any given scene a character's finger movements may be aided with CGI. In a greater example, certain characters on a much larger scale than others may be developed entirely in CGI), particle effects and as an aid for elaborate camera sequences. Each use of 3D CGI is extensively cel-shaded so as to not appear visually inconsistent with the 2D material.

 

Starring:

David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck

Danny Pudi as Huey

Ben Schwartz as Dewey

Bobby Moynihan as Louie

Beck Bennett as Launchpad McQuack

Keith Ferguson as Flintheart Glomgold

Eric Bauza as The Beagle Boys

Kimberly Brooks as Emily Featherby

Winston Duke as Tsotsi Beagle

Jenny Slate as Maya

Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck

 

with Bryan Cranston as Master Cornelius

and Cate Blanchett as Magica De Spell

 

Plot Synopsis: Set shortly after the previous film, Scrooge McDuck's old nemesis Magica De Spell re-emerges once news spreads of business rival Flintheart Glomgold claiming the title of World's Richest Duck from Scrooge. As Magica needs the first coin ever earned by the richest duck to craft a medallion that'll grant her the power of Midas' Touch, the race is on for Scrooge and his nephews to find Glomgold's number one dime before Magica can use its powers to collapse the world economy.

 

Plot:

The Adventures of Scrooge McDuck (in case you need a refresher): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BnksVyk0Wj306L2QmkGUmbMqooz8p5XxAprG-ar83BI/edit?usp=sharing

 

The Number One Dime: 

 

We open to a tracking shot slowly panning upwards from the Mediterranean Sea to Naples, Italy with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background (the IMAX aspect ratio comes handy in this shot). We cut further towards the mountain where we see a nervous looking mailman slowly ascending the sloping terrain. He reaches a cottage curiously built not far from the summit, and he begins to tense up as he sees the mailbox with the words "De Spell" ominously carved on its side. His hands begin to shake before he reaches into his bag to pull out a rectangular-shaped package. He slowly and carefully inches his way towards the mailbox, only to be jumpscared by a pitch black crow which leaps out of the mailbox. The mailman falls to the ground and the crow picks up the package before hissing at him which causes him to flee in terror. The crow brings the package into the cottage to the window and places it at a table, before a pair of disembodied hands emerge from the shadows menacingly floating towards it. The hands rip open the package to reveal it to be the monthly edition of "World's Richest". The hands begin flicking through the pages as a shadowy figure is seen sitting in a chair in the background. The hands stop at a page listing the richest people in the world, number 100 to 1. The soundtrack begins to intensify as the hands scroll from bottom and upwards revealing two names at the top: Flintheart Glomgold and Scrooge McDuck. Only... to the surprise of the figure in the background, Glomgold's name is placed above McDuck's. The figure, whose face remains hidden, walks up to the table as the disembodied hands disappear back into the shadows.

"No... it can't be... All these years of defeat and humiliation at the hands of McDuck and fate chooses to throw this at me?!"

Seemingly enraged, the figure hovers her hand over the page and through dark magic burns the page and the entire magazine to ashes. We cut to the crow watching from the chair, the flames of the burning paper reflected in its eyes.

Cut to a lively cafeteria down in Naples. A woman sits alone at a table checking her watch anticipating someone. A waitress walks up to her and asks if she's ready to order anything, but the woman tells her she's waiting for a friend to arrive. Shortly after, a young boy is running down the street shouting "The witch is coming! The witch is coming!". Everyone walking down the street freeze up for a second before scrambling in panic, running inside the closest buildings and shutting windows and doors to their homes and businesses. Everyone at the cafeteria except the woman at the table start hurriedly building a barricade between them and whatever's out there using chairs and tables. The waitress peeks out from behind the barricade whispering to the woman still at her table that she doesn't want to be out when the witch's around. The woman doesn't appear concerned, instead telling the waitress "Don't worry, it's just my friend." The doors to the cafeteria burst open to the patrons' fright, and in steps a rather pissed looking Magica De Spell. The woman at the table, named Maya, smiles and conjures up a cup of coffee (revealing that she too is a witch) and takes a sip.

Maya: Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman.
Magica: [ sits down at the table ] So... you've heard?
Maya: It's the talk of the town. Everyone in Naples knows who are, and they know how you'd react.
Magica: ...Do you know how many years I have wasted chasing that old codger's most valued possession?!
Maya: Scrooge McDuck's number one dime. Don't think I haven't heard the story a million times.
Magica: I want an audience with the council. NOW.
Maya: ...For what purpose, dear? Your days are over... McDuck is done. Maybe you should retire? [ sips ]
Magica: Oh Maya, I thought you knew me better than that.
Maya: Of course, how wrong of me. You've spent your entire life chasing a myth, why would I expect you to stop now? Your obsession with amassing a spell only you believe exists... fascinates me.

The waitress, still hiding behind the barricade, drops a plate by accident which rolls into Magica's line of sight. Magica gets up from the table and uses her magic to force the barricade to separate exposing the waitress to her. "I'm in a bit of a bad mood today. I asked not to be disturbed while I'm having my girl talk." Magica users her powers the lift the waitress into the air to the horrors of her and everyone around them. She pleads to Magica to let her go, but Magica ignores her and reaches for a bottle inside her purse. She throws it in the waitress's face, and the waitress's body starts contorting in terrifying ways before she morphs completely into that of a pig. Magica lets the pig go which runs squealing out the door.

Magica: Oh... I just remembered I didn't ask. My bad.
Maya: ...Will Thursday at four suffice?
Magica: Will do. I'm not going anywhere. Not yet.
[ Magica walks towards the cafeteria doors while Maya takes another sip from her coffee, giving a smug look to their horrified witnesses before turning back to Magica. ]
Magica: Glomgold won't know what's coming to him. Neither will Scroogie for that matter.

Magica menacingly uses her magic to slam the doors behind her and we cut to the title card.

T H E  N U M B E R  O N E  D I M E

 

NOVEMBER 30TH

 

“Huey! Dewey! Louie! Man the stations! The Beagles are coming!”

 

“You can’t hold up in your money bin forever, McDuck!”

 

Bouncer, seen wearing some form of a viking helmet, is charging headfirst towards the entry doors to the Scrooge McDuck money bin. He strikes the steel doors causing a soundwave that startles all the other Beagles standing on the street behind him. He stumbles back towards them all dizzy and confused while the steel door remains intact. Bigtime promptly slaps him in his face and asks just what the heck did he think was gonna happen. Bouncer proceeds to thank his brother for the slap for it cleared his mind.

 

Bigtime: Did you think I brought all of our twenty-two cousins so you could make a fool of yourself?!

Bouncer: Wait, they’re our cousins? I thought they were our siblings!

Bigtime: No, stupid! Mama was good, but she wasn't that good!

Burger: I’m hungry, anyone got any prunes?

Bigtime: (ಠ_ಠ)

Burger: ...Nevermind.

Bigtime: I’ve been waiting long enough! It’s time we show that old geezer that the Beagles are not to be messed with! [ turns to his cousins ] CHARGE!!!

 

The twenty-five beagles charge the money bin in a scene almost out of a Lord of the Rings sequel. We pan upwards to see Huey, Dewey and Louie witnessing the attack and respond accordingly. Huey drops water balloons at a pair of beagles who try to scale the building with a ladder (causing them and the ladder to fall backwards), Dewey rigs a system where dumps buckets of grease onto the beagles' path causing them to slip and slide around and Louie notices one beagle who thinks he’s being clever (he isn’t) by putting a duck beak on and pretending he’s a relative of theirs. Louie sarcastically welcomes him to the family by dumping a bowling ball on his head. The battle continues as the beagles start comically using Bouncer’s head as a battering ram to break through the front door with.

 

Dewey: Are they really that dense?! They just tried that and it didn’t-

[ The beagles successfully burst through the front gate using Bouncer’s head. ]

Dewey: ...Huh. I guess persistence pays off.

Huey: Guys, we have a problem… we’re out of ammo.

Dewey: Usually Bigtime would’ve given up by now. We probably should’ve brought more toilet paper...

Louie: I think it’s time we do the "Louie".

Dewey: What?! No! We’re NOT doing the "Louie"!

Huey: Wait, what’s the "Louie"?

Louie: You’ll soon see, my red-capped, feathered friend.

Dewey: Spoiler alert, it’s your brother being an idiot!

Louie: You’re not getting anywhere in life without thinking outside the box every once in a while, blue!

Huey: I'm starting to think the fact that Louie is having an increasingly devil-may-care attitude is not exactly a positive development...

Dewey: Yeah, what does Louie think this is, Quack Pack?

Louie: We do NOT talk about Quack Pack in this house!

Huey: ...What’s a "quack pack"?

[ They hear the beagles stomping about a floor below. Dewey looks back at his green-clad brother before sighing. ]

Dewey: ...Go ahead.

 

Louie makes a cocky smile. He trots over to a record player hits play. What follows is ONE. LONG. CONTINUOUS. SHOT (because Cookie Pictures is spending the GDP of an impoverished Polynesian nation on rendering farms for this and they’re going to show it off, dangit!) where the ducklings battle the beagles in the hallways of the McDuck bin, set to Walk the Moon’s cover of the DuckTales theme.

 

( Life is like a hurricane, here in... Duckburg )

 

The beagles burst through the hallway door, finding the three ducklings waiting for them.

 

( Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes, it’s a… duck-blur )

 

Bigtime: Well, well, well, what we do have here?

 

( Might solve a mystery, or rewrite history! )

 

Louie: Alright, brothers, just follow my lead!

 

( DuckTales, woohoo! )

 

Louie runs towards the beagles and slides right under them, the camera following him as each beagle attempts to bow down and grab him only to bump their head into the one in front of them.

 

( Every day they’re out there makin’ DuckTales, woohoo! )

 

Huey and Dewey use the distraction to climb on top of two book shelves on opposite ends of the room.

 

( Tales of derring-do, back and good luck tales, woohoo! )

 

As the beagles rush at them, Huey and Dewey leap and hop across on the beagles’ heads. Dewey lands on one brute beagle’s shoulder, drags down the beagle’s cap across his face effectively blinding him and steering him like a bull charging him at the others.

 

( When it seems they’re heading for the final... curtain )

 

Huey leaps onto another bookcase and pulls it down at one beagle, knocking him out.

 

( Good deduction never fails… )

 

Huey grabs a book and whacks it across a beagle's face.

 

( That’s for… certain! )

 

Seeing stars, the dizzy beagle stumbles right towards the staircase and falls down it.

 

( The worst of messes… )

 

Still steering the beagle bull, Dewey charges it headfirst into a janitor’s closet and barricades the door on the way out.

 

( ...become successes! )

 

( DuckTales, woohoo! )

 

The camera panning back to Louie, he grabs a fire extinguisher and fires foam right at incoming beagles’ faces.

 

( Every day they’re out there makin’ DuckTales, woohoo! )

 

Huey meanwhile dumps a load of marbles in the direction of a few other incoming beagles causing them to trip and slip around, some of them tripping over the railing and down the staircase.

 

( Tales of derring-do, bad and good luck tales, woohoo! )

 

( *instrumental interlude*)

 

Louie sneaks behind a distracted beagle, lights a match and sets the beagle’s pants on fire. Once said beagle notices, he runs around screaming before leaping out of a window (probably not realizing he’s several stories up). Louie, clearly not expecting him to leap out of a window, tries to walk away looking all innocent. He then throws over the fire extinguisher to a cornered Dewey who spreads more foam in some beagles’ faces. The two blinded beagles run into one another knocking themselves out.

 

Louie then turns and sees more beagles ascending the staircase.

 

( D-d-d-danger looks behind you )

 

He calls on his brothers to help him rip out a metal plate belonging to an electricity box.

 

( There’s a stranger out to find you )

 

The beagles rush towards them thinking they’ve got them now.

 

( What to do, just grab on to some DuckTales, woohoo! )

 

The ducklings rip the plate out just in time and Louie uses it to whack the incoming beagle across the face.

 

( Every day they’re out they’re making DuckTales, woohoo! )

 

Using the metal plate a shield, Louie rams at the beagles coming up from the staircase pushing them back.

 

( Tales of derring-do, bad and good luck tales, woohoo!)

 

Now using the plate as a surfboard, Louie leaps onto the beagles on the staircase and surfs downwards using each successive beagle’s head as a slope.

 

( Tales of derring-do, bad and good, not pony tales nor cotton tales… )

 

Louie’s speed ramps and the plate striking each successive beagle knocks them out cold.

 

( No, DuckTales!)

 

Reaching the bottom floor, Louie thinks he’s gotten all of them when one still conscious beagle tries to sneak up on him, only to have Dewey’s fire extinguisher dropped on his head.

 

( Woohoo! )

 

Louie: [ turns to his siblings ] And that’s what I call a “Louie”!

Dewey: ...Showoff.

 

Cut to a moment later where the beagles are being arrested by arriving police. The foreman walks up to the ducklings and says they’ve managed to arrest all twenty-four of them.

 

Dewey: ...Twenty-four? Weren’t there twenty-five?

Louie: Uh oh!

Huey: Uncle Scrooge!

 

The triplets run back into the building as we cut to Bigtime, having made it past them, sneaking into Scrooge’s office. With the curtains closed and lights out, he stumbles around tripping over multiple objects. He pulls open one of the curtains allowing some light to shine into the room. This allows him to see a silhouette of Scrooge McDuck sitting at his office chair which makes him devilishly grin. He quietly sneaks up on the silhouette and pulls out a gun.

 

Bigtime: Game’s over, McDuck! Keys to the vault, now!

 

He gets no response. Confused, Bigtime reaches for a desk lamp and turns it on to reveal the Scrooge silhouette is really just a duck made out of straws and wearing his trademark hat. Someone flickers on the lights behind him and we see Scrooge, having been in the office the whole time and has a cannon waiting for Bigtime.

 

Bigtime: Oh come on, that’s not even fair!

Scrooge: Who said anything about it being fair, ‘ye howling halfwit?

[ Scrooge lights up the cannon. ]

Bigtime: ...Do I at least get a consolation prize for making it this far?

Scrooge: You can keep the cannonball I’m about to fire at you...

Bigtime: How uncharacteristically generous of you.

Scrooge: Well, it is the season of givin’. Merry Christmas!

 

Cut back outside where the ducklings and the police hear a loud bang, followed by Bigtime bursting through the walls of the money bin and launched several yards (accompanied by him doing the Goofy holler). The police find Bigtime, with the cannonball lodged in his stomach, having burrowed a crater into the ground. Scrooge looks out from the hole he’s made in his office and waves at his grand-nephews. Cut to them meeting up at Scrooge’s now wrecked office while he signs and hands over a few papers to the police. Scrooge’s secretary, Emily Featherby, inspects the damage.

 

Emily: Uh… Mr. McDuck, I don’t think ‘tis the season for an open-air office...

Scrooge: Meh, it’s just the Calisota winter. Back in Scotland it got so cold even the mountain hares had to get their own fur coats!

Dewey: Can we at least patch it up with plastic sheets? It’s getting windy in here!

Scrooge: ...Fine, but we’re not throwing away those sheets afterwards!

 

We cut to Huey walking down a hallway towards a telephone which he uses to dial a specific number. We cut to what appears to be the inside of an aircraft carrier, and who else would it be but Private Donald Duck picking up the phone. Huey, somewhat cautiously, asks his uncle how he’s been doing, and Donald responds by saying the usual (which is to say, not great). He’s caused so many disasters on deck that the general’s relegated him to peeling potatoes, a task so simple and risk-free even he couldn’t possibly screw it up. Donald asks back if things are going alright with them and Scrooge, especially now that Scrooge is no longer the richest duck in the world. Huey says Scrooge was on the down low for a while but got better, and he should be catching up to Glomgold after the holiday season.

 

Huey: Speaking of Christmas… you are coming home this year, right, uncle Donald?

[ Donald goes quiet for a bit. ]

Donald: ...I’m… I’m sorry, Huey… I guess I’m gonna miss another one.

Huey: …

Donald: But I can make it to Easter… I think…

Huey: You promised...

Donald: ...I know. But sometimes… promises can’t be kept no matter how hard you try.

[ Huey looks over and sees Scrooge sitting in his office, making business calls and drafting up more ways for him to beat Glomgold at his own game. He turns back to the phone and sighs. ]

Huey: ...I hope you have a Merry Christmas, at least.

Donald: Well if I get all those potatoes done before then I’ll get Christmas Eve off! Gonna go ashore and get myself some nice-

[ A loud explosion happens followed by a metal door flinging across the room. Donald sees the name plate which reads “Potato Storage Room”. ]

Donald: ...Uh oh.

General (off-screen): PRIIVAATE DUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!

Donald: I knew I forgot something… Gotta go, Huey! Merry Christmas!

 

Donald hangs up. Huey is left with a phone beep on his end. He puts his head against the wall and lets out a deep sigh. Cut to Italy where we’re re-introduced to Magica, being led by Maya towards a place in the middle of nowhere. They reach a seemingly random spot before Maya takes out a spellbook and low-key chants a phrase which makes a rather foreboding-looking medieval castle appear out of thin air. The castle lowers its drawbridge allowing Maya and Magica to enter. The castle is through magic even larger on the inside than it is on the outside, as Magica follows Maya down a long hall which seems to go on forever. Along the way other witches and wizards see Magica’s arrival and whisper amongst themselves. Magica tries to ignore their murmurings but finds their judging eyes a bit distressing. At the end of the hallway, Maya orders two guards to open a massive gate standing before them, and as the doors slowly open, Magica is introduced to the Great Council of Witches and Wizardry, five cloaked figures sitting in tall podiums all staring down at Magica. The front figure pulls off his cloak, revealing himself to be the Grand Wizard of the council, Master Cornelius.

 

Cornelius: The recent developments have not failed to reach the ears of the council. Have you come to admit that the many years of chasing one insignificant duck have proved fruitless and you are hereby retiring?

Magica: Quite the opposite, master. My quest has only changed in that I now have a different target.

[ The four other cloaked figures remove their hoodies, revealing themselves to be the other four masters of the council: Elminster, Mustrum, Thessaly and Melisandre. ]

Elminster: Your “quest” is based on nothing but hearsay and make-believe! The Amulet of Midas does not exist!

Magica: Not yet, it doesn’t. It needs to be forged from the first coin the richest person in the world ever owned within the fiery depths of an active volcano. Luckily I have easy access to one of those two.

Melisandre: Your escapades have only served to expose the world of witches and wizards to the mortal land, and framed us as devils!

Magica: Isn’t that what you wanted? To be feared by the mortals?

Thessaly: We only serve to maintain peace and security for all that is magic. You are compromising all of that!

Magica: Oh please, how much damage can one lonely witch living in a cottage on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius do?

Mustrum: Do not test your limits, witch!

Cornelius: That’s enough! Magica De Spell, know that the council has come to a decision before you even arrived.

Magica: ...What decision?

Thessaly: That you are to be dehexified!

Magica: ...What?!

Mustrum: Failing to produce anything meaningful in twenty years while wasting magical resources and staining the names of every wizard and witch should be cause for banishing you down the Eternal Chasm, but Master Cornelius chose to spare your life should you comply.

Cornelius: I shall only tell you this once, Magica: you have four days to hand in all that is magic in your possession and live the rest of your life as a meaningless mortal… or the Eternal Chasm will await you.

Magica: ...Y-you can’t do this!

[ Cornelius conjures up an hourglass and the sand already starts running. ]

Cornelius: Four days. To this time. None more, none less.

Magica: ...You are making a grave mistake, master.

 

Cornelius simply scoffs at her before using his magic to instantly teleport her out of the chamber. She watches as the doors close again in front of her, breathing heavily out her nose and scowling.  A little later, Magica tells the news to Maya, who shows little anguish over Magica’s predicament, much to Magica’s annoyance. The two walk by a different metal door, one of even larger size than the door leading to the council. Magica wonders what’s inside, but Maya tells her it’s best not to ask those kind of questions if she’s already walking a thin line with the council. At that moment, Cornelius spontaneously appears.

 

Maya: Master Cornelius! [ bows ] It’s rare to see you outside the council...

Cornelius: I see and hear all that goes down within these walls. Do not think I’m not aware of Magica’s sudden interest in this door.

Magica: I will hand all of my stuff to you within TWO days if you tell me what’s behind that door! If I’m going to be dehexified anyway, my last request is to know what’s in there!

Cornelius: ...Only pain and destruction.

Magica: Please do not speak in vague, master...

Cornelius: The Wand of Merlock. Only the most powerful wand in the universe… and the most destructive.

Magica: ...Well, if it’s the most powerful it’d go without saying it’d be the most destructive.

Cornelius: Some say all of Merlock inhabits it. I never dared to try and confirm that rumor.

Magica: Curious how something so powerful is kept behind just another steel door…

Cornelius: This is enchanted steel forged by dwarves in the darkest pits of the Earth. Nothing can penetrate it, not even magic.

Magica: Does that include all magic?

Cornelius: ...Don’t get any ideas.

 

Cornelius vanishes again. Magica turns to Maya with a devilish grin, which only seems to confuse Maya. 

Cut to Johannesburg, South Africa. Out by the countryside is a rather familiar looking money bin but rather than a massive dollar sign as its insignia it’s the South African pound. The camera pans in through the top window and we’re re-introduced to Flintheart Glomgold, slumping in his chair while a financial advisor painstakingly describes the fact that Scrooge’s increasing revenue and Glomgold’s financial stagnation means Scrooge will have reclaimed his title as the world’s richest duck as soon as December 25th. Glomgold asks if there’s really nothing they can do to counter Scrooge’s upturn, and the advisor says any further investments at this point wouldn’t start paying off until after the New Year. Glomgold appears defeated. He tells his advisor to leave while he stares out of his giant office window and sulks. Suddenly, the phone rings. We cut between him and Scrooge by a fireplace at his mansion back in Duckburg. Snow is falling outside and Scrooge has Dean Martin's "Let is Snow" on the record player.

 

Scrooge: How’s it hangin’, Flinty? Enjoying your last moments at the top? Heeheehee~

Glomgold: You sure seem to be enjoying yourself…

Scrooge: I’ve got some hot cocoa, Martin on the record and me’ dear nephews putting up the Christmas tree. Do you have a Christmas tree, Flinty, or can’t you afford it? Haha!

Glomgold: Knowing you, that Christmas tree is probably the same one you’ve had for the last five years...

Scrooge: [ throws up his hands ] You got me!

Glomgold: [ grumbles ]

Scrooge: You sound upset… relatives standing you up yet again? Granted... I don’t know much about setting up Christmas parties for giraffes! [ cackles ]

Glomgold: ...I hope with all my heart you choke on that cocoa.

[ Glomgold hangs up. ]

Scrooge: Love you too, Glomgold! [ snickers ]

Huey: You’re just gonna call and make fun of Glomgold near Christmas? That’s harsh.

Scrooge: If Glomgold were in my position, I guarantee you he’d do much worse.

Dewey: He tried to kill us back at the Andes... Why do you think he deserves the benefit of the doubt, Huey?

Huey: I didn’t say he-

[ Louie attempts to leap on top of the Christmas tree to put the star on, he ends up toppling the whole thing instead. Huey, Dewey and Scrooge all look at him. ]

Louie: ...Sorry.

Scrooge: ...You know, maybe I shouldn’t be so harsh on Glomgold… he’s right in that I should get a new Christmas tree.

 

Scrooge tells his butler Duckworth (voided by David Kaye) to clean up the mess while he and the ducklings move to the living room. There, Scrooge takes out his number one dime (a U.S “Seated Liberty” dime printed in 1875) and longingly glances at it. Huey remains quiet, clearly trying to hold something in.

 

Louie: Wait, I thought the number one dime was back at the money bin?

Dewey: Louie, we’ve been over this a thousand times, the dime in the vault is just a decoy!

Scrooge: [ chuckles ] I still remember Magica’s face when she made it all the way to Mount Vesuvius before realizing it was a dud!

Louie: Yeah, about that, why did we give her chase all the way to Italy for a decoy?

Scrooge: A dime saved is a dime earned, Louie! If you boys are going to inherit my fortune you need to remember that word for word!

Louie: I thought Uncle Donald was gonna inherit the fortune?

Scrooge: [ scoffs ] That good for nothin’ screwup?! He’d bankrupt my company in a week!

Huey: …

Dewey: That’s a little much, don’t you think, Uncle Scrooge?

Scrooge: A little much? My taxes go to keepin’ him overseas! If he stays over there forever, I wouldn’t care one bit!

[ Huey, visibly upset, gets out of his chair and storms off. ]

Scrooge: ...What’s with your brother?

Louie: He’s… kinda been down all afternoon.

Scrooge: ...Eh, he’ll get over it. You two boys ever heard how I got this dime?

Dewey: Only a million times…

Louie: Yeah but it’s a cool story though, so go ahead!

 

Despite Dewey’s protestations, Scrooge begins recounting the tale of how he earned his first coin. It was Glasgow, 1877. It was Scrooge’s tenth birthday and his father, Fergus McDuck, a poor mill worker, had made him a shoe shining kit as a gift, thinking he needed to start going out and earns his own money (since they couldn’t afford to have him go to school). During Scrooge’s first outing, a ditch digger with extremely muddy shoes wished for Scrooge to shine them. The shoe shining become so long and arduous that Scrooge passed out once he finished, and once he woke up he discovered that the digger had given him an American dime instead of the shilling he’d been promised. Feeling conned, Scrooge decided to keep the coin and woved that he’d earn his riches fair and square and by being smarter than the smarties and tougher than the toughies. Scrooge tells his nephews that hadn’t it been for that sly digger, he wouldn’t be where he was today, and it’s why he resents people like Glomgold who cheat and lie to attain their fortune.

 

Speaking of Glomgold, he’s seen back in South Africa slumbering back and forth in his empty mansion while grumbling over his resentment for Scrooge. He sits by a massive dining table all alone, not even willing to touch his food for his anger over Scrooge has taken away all his appetite. He instead goes to his living room to drown himself in liquor and  watch TV, but the news are just talking about Scrooge, so he instead throws his bottle and the screen and breaks it. He just chooses to sulk some more.

 

We’re back with Magica and Maya as they’ve left the council and are back in Magica’s cottage by Mount Vesuvius. Magica is clearly not happy about the council’s decision, drawing up pictures of each of the council member’s faces and then burn them up using her magic. Maya casually inspects her place, asking Magica if there’s anything she has that could be of value to her, and if so Magica can sell it to her if she doesn’t want to return it to the council. Magica tells her she’s not going to get rid of anything, for she is going to use these four days to enact her vengeance on the council and, should she have the time, Scrooge.

 

Maya: And how do you expect to do that?

Magica: Glomgold’s first coin. I highly doubt that blithering fool is protecting it like Scroogie does…

Maya: There’s one problem with that, dear: You know where’s Scrooge’s dime is. You don’t know if Glomgold even still has his...

Magica: I’ll find it… I’ll find it if I’ll have to burn down all of Johannesburg!

Maya: ...Just so know, there are no dental plans down in the Eternal Chasm.

Magica: That’s where you come in. I need you to keep the council distracted.

Maya: I’d like to keep myself OUT of the Eternal Chasm, thank you!

Magica: ...Fine. Don’t do jack! Just know that when I win, I won’t hand any of you mercy...

Maya: Oooh I’m so scared! So when you melt the coin and nothing happens, can I take a picture of your face? I think it’d be one I’ll cherish!

[ Maya accidentally bumps into one of Magica’s shelves and a strange-looking candle with ancient insignia carved on it falls out. ]

Maya: [ picks the candle up ] ...What’s this?

Magica: A useless piece of junk.

Maya: ...You never told me you had a time candle!

Magica: I had two. Parting gift from a dying necromancer.

Maya: I take it that parting wasn’t on the best of terms…

Magica: Well, his limbs certainly didn’t part on the best of terms… The candle lets you go back to any point in time, but it’ll only last an hour. I used the other one to go back to Scrooge’s childhood and try to steal his first dime before he even earned it. I realized too late that if Scrooge had never earned that dime, it’d be worthless.

Maya: You didn’t try to go somewhere else in time, like his teenage years?

Magica: Here’s the thing: Scrooge’s morale is linked to that coin. Should I take it from him at any other point in time, I’d probably come back to a future where he’s broke. Then the coin, once again, wouldn’t be worth squat.

Maya: ...Can I have the candle, then?

Magica: No! I’m not selling anything! Least of all to you! [ snatches the candle out of Maya’s hands and puts it back on the shelf. ] You book me a plane ticket to Duckburg, and then one to Johannesburg!

Maya: Why Duckburg?

Magica: I just wanna pay some old friends a visit... [ evil grin ]

 

DECEMBER 1ST

 

Scrooge and the triplets are at the money bin. Scrooge is complaining that the witch detector isn’t working properly and he’s been trying to reach famous Duckburg inventor Gyro Gearloose to come fix it, but Gyro won’t return his calls. Dewey says Gyro is still on vacation since his last invention blew up half the Andes and in his honest opinion he’s earned that time off. Scrooge disagrees, since he’d rather have the witch detector working once he’s reclaimed his title and Magica is going to start coming after him again. Dewey expresses his doubt over that, since Magica hasn’t been actively chasing him for a over a year.

 

Magica (off-screen): Yes, I’ve been a bit busy these past few months.

Dewey: See? Right from the witch’s mou- ...Wait…

 

The camera makes a dramatic swirl as the ducks slowly realize that Magica is right by their window flying on her broomstick. Scrooge panics, running around like a headless chicken looking for any garlic to throw at Magica (since witches are allergic to garlic). He grabs his old musket and aims it three feet from her face. Magica is undeterred.

 

Scrooge: Why are you even here?! The dime holds no value to you!

Magica: Ooh, I know that. I just wanted to say hi.

 

Magica hovers herself through the open window and into Scrooge’s office. Emily is seen hiding behind a desk signaling to Scrooge that she’s found the garlic and is ready to throw it at Magica on his command. Scrooge, still aiming his musket at Magica, signals to Emily to hold. The triplets meanwhile all arm themselves with their nearest available objects (Louie comically tries to lift up Scrooge’s globe but fails to do so). Magica calmly tells everyone she’s not here to start a fight, since she knows Scrooge hasn’t reclaimed his title yet. She, much to Scrooge and everyone else’s confusion, announces that she’s discovered where Glomgold’s first coin is.

 

Scrooge: ...Nonsense. You’re bluffing!

Magica: Would I, Scroogie?

Scrooge: ...Yes, ‘ye would.

Magica: Point taken.

Scrooge: Why are you even here telling me this?!

Magica: Because I want to see your face when you realize that everything you have fought for is about to crumble to pieces…

Scrooge: [ scowls ] ...‘Yere gonna have to wait for that!

Magica: As you wish. I have places to go, anyway. I have a meeting with an old geezer down in Johannesburg. Arrivederci!

 

Magica bolts out the window. Louie wonders what that was all about, and Scrooge says he’s not entirely sure. Huey wonders if Magica’s really serious about having found Glomgold’s number one coin or if she’s trying to play mind games with Scrooge. Scrooge dismisses the notion, saying he knows Magica well and he knows she’s trying to punk him. Probably a ploy to make him attain the title faster so she can start attacking him again with full force. Scrooge sits in his office chair and plucks his number one dime out of his pocket. After so many years he’s become familiar with every tiny scratch and mark that he could pick it up easy should someone throw it into the vault. “I’ve grown accustomed to see the needle rather than the haystack” as he puts it. That’s when it slowly starts dawning on him that Magica may not actually be bluffing. The triplets see their grand-uncle starting to shake. Breaking a sweat, Scrooge huddles over the telephone and calls Glomgold one more time.

 

Glomgold: ...You’ve called me to make fun of me again, McDuck?

Scrooge: Heeey, Flinty, me' lad! [ nervous chuckle ] You know, eh… me’ sorry for what I said yesterday, uh… You happen to know where ‘ye number one coin is, eh?

Glomgold: Listen, you worthless bliksem, I’m going to do my darnedest to keep that title and if you think for even one second I’ll hand it over to you, you’ve got a whole other thing comin’ you son of a-

[ Cut to Scrooge’s reaction to what’s being said on the phone, implying Glomgold is laying out some colourful profanity at him. Glomgold then hangs up. ]

Scrooge: …

Huey: Uncle Scrooge, you okay?

Scrooge: ...Miss Featherby, please cancel all me’ appointments for the next few days.

Featherby: ...Any particular reason, Mr. McDuck?

Scrooge: Reason being we might on the brink of a world ending catastrophe. Boys, we have to get to Johannesburg pronto!

Louie: We’re going on another adventure? Sweet!

Dewey: Please tell me this isn’t going to end in another violent explosion…

Louie: But violent explosions are the best part of any adventure!

Dewey: NO THEY’RE NOT, LOUIE!!!

Huey: …

Louie: Huey, you comin’?

Huey: Y-yeah I’m… I’m coming.

 

Scrooge and his grand-nephews quickly depart the money bin as we pan from behind Scrooge’s office window to reveal Poe, Magica’s crow, having listened in on them the whole time. Poe flies to a nearby park where Magica is waiting for it by a bench. The crow informs his master of what just occurred, and Magica begins low-key cackling.

 

Cut to a jail cell somewhere in Duckburg. The Beagle Boys are back in familiar territory, huddled together behind bars this time being surveyed by a whole ton of guards. They go through the usual jail time routine: Bigtime walks around complaining and wondering why his latest masterplan didn’t work, Bouncer stands scratching his butt and Burger asks the guards when they’re going to be allowed to eat (even though they ate just fifteen minutes ago). At the prison reception, a woman wearing a rather conspicuous outfit walks up to the receptionist and asks if she can see the Beagle Boys. The receptionist tells her visiting hours are over and she’ll have to come back another time. The woman (revealed to be Magica) takes up a magic bottle from her purse and throws it in the receptionist’s face which transforms her into a bunny. Magica leans over to the bunny receptionist’s desk and presses a button opening up the doors for her. She sees two guards stationed near a metal detector and turns the two into crabs before they can even react. Two guards stationed near the beagles’ cell see the two crabs running by before they see Magica approaching. Not wanting to hurt a lady, they try to approach her and as calmly and condescending as possible, only for Magica to levitate one of them up in the air and fling him out a window. The other guard decides to use brute force and raises his baton, only for Magica to fling another bottle at him turning him into a frog. She walks up to the beagles’ cell and calmly asks them if they’re available for a job. Bigtime, looking a bit shaken after what he just saw transpire, says he and his boys are up for anything.

 

We cut to Duckburg Airport. The ducks arrive with their hastily packed bags as Duckworth wishes them a good trip. Scrooge leads the triplets to a rather derelict looking flight hangar, forcing open the hangar doors to reveal a familiar yellow plane. This gives Dewey pause.

 

Dewey: Wait… is that… does that mean…? Oh no.

Launchpad: [ bursts out of the engine compartment ] Launchpad McQuack! At your service!

Dewey: Yup, this is just like old times, alright.

Launchpad: Huey! Dewey! Louie! Mr. McD! You’ve grown so much! Well, not Mr. McD really, I mean he’s like… old and… stuff.

Scrooge: ...Launchpad, how long have you been living in that plane?

Launchpad: Oh don’t worry about me, Mr. McD! I know this guy who’s working on this sweet place downtown for me! In fact he was supposed to call… like a year ago…

Scrooge: We need a plane to Johannesburg pronto, can you get us there?

Launchpad: Johannes’ Burgers? Is that a new place? Do they serve sliders there?

Scrooge: Johannesburg, ‘ye musclebrained boob! South Africa!

Launchpad: Oooh… Problem is, Mr. McD, I got my pilot license revoked.

Scrooge: ...Launchpad, you never had a pilot license. The CAA wouldn’t let you near any of their planes!

Launchpad: I had one written in crayon and I dropped it, Mr. McD. I’ve been scared to fly ever since.

Huey: Is that why you weren’t with us last time?

[ Launchpad shifts his eyes in both directions before leaning in close to Huey. ]

Launchpad (whispers): I was actually doing a top secret mission in St. Canard, can’t tell anyone about it! Working with Darkwing Duck to stop Negaduck from colliding the negaverse with our ‘verse was totally rad, though!

Huey: ...Wait, wha-

Scrooge: Launchpad, I need you to get this bird into the air! With or without a license!

Launchpad: [ ponders for an absurdly long time. ] ...You got it, Mr. McD!

 

Launchpad immediately runs back into the plane and the four ducks watch the plane sputter smoke all over the hangar before the propeller finally starts spinning. A dusty Launchpad gives them the thumbs up from the cockpit window. The group gets on board and Launchpad begins taxiing out to the runway. Launchpad brings out a checklist while they’re taxiing, which Huey points out he probably should’ve done before he went out to the runway, but Launchpad replies that Scrooge wanted him to hurry up.

 

Launchpad: Let’s see here: Gears? Check! Flaps? Check! Day old sandwich? [ checks glove compartment ] Check!

Dewey: Uh… do we have clearance to go straight for the runway?

Launchpad: I don’t know, let’s ask! [ turns on the radio ]

ATC: ...you are not cleared for takeoff! I repeat, Sun Chaser, you are not cleared for takeoff!

Launchpad: [ pushes random button ] Am I cleared for takeoff now?

ATC: Sun Chaser, there is a McDonnell Douglas approaching your runway, you need to clear right no-

Launchpad: [ turns off the radio ] Why are those guys always so rude to me?

Dewey:  Launchpad… he just said we weren’t cleared…

Launchpad: Don’t believe everything you hear on the radio, kid! [ Looks out the window ] HOLY CRUD, THERE’S A PLANE HEADING RIGHT FOR US!!

 

Launchpad’s plane is already hurtling down the runway as they now spot a DC-8 heading towards them. Since Launchpad has already picked up enough speed that diverting from the runway would prove disastrous, he instead suggests to the now terrified ducks that he should keep going and try to pass UNDER the incoming plane. In a rather dramatic shot Launchpad’s plane skids just under the incoming DC-8 but clears it by a hair’s length, although the resulting turbulence from the DC-8 makes Launchpad’s plane defy gravity and rapidly fling itself upwards. With the bird in the air and a cocky Launchpad congratulating himself on a successful take-off, the plane heads off into the sunset while the camera turns back to the airport to see a disguised Magica (and three hilariously conspicuous-looking Beagle Boys) watching them from the terminal gate, with the overhead display reading “Johannesburg”.

 

DECEMBER 3RD

 

South Africa. The shadow of a plane is seeing traversing the savanna at high speeds, catching the eye of a few animals along the way. It’s revealed to be Launchpad’s plane (duh) as we cut inside to see what the ducks are all up to. Louie and Dewey are both asleep, Louie kicking his blue-clad brother as he slumbers. Huey is up awake and sees Scrooge watching out of the cockpit window while Launchpad steers the plane. He walks up to Scrooge, saying he wants to talk to him in private. Scrooge, having had enough of seeing nothing but grass and buffalos, agrees to hear him out.

 

Scrooge: You’ve been kinda off lately, Huey. Is something the matter?

Huey: ...Remember that promise you made back in the Amazon?

Scrooge: ‘Ye, “always remember what’s really important”, what about it?

Huey: Are you… still committed to that?

Scrooge: ‘Course I am, Huey! You three may sometimes be a mouthful, but I wouldn’t trade ‘ye for anything in the world.

Huey: …

Scrooge: ...It’s about what I said about your Uncle Donald, ain’t it? [ sighs ] I’m sorry, I… got myself a little caught up. I’ve been trying with your uncle for years, but… it just hasn’t worked out like either of us wanted to. I promise you, once he gets back for Christmas, I’m gonna try and patch things up with him.

Huey: ...Uncle Scrooge, Donald’s not-

Launchpad: [ audibly snores ]

Scrooge: What in me’ bagpipes, is he asleep?! [ walks over and slaps Launchpad ] Wake up!

Launchpad: GAH! Sorry, Mr. McD! I was just resting my eyes for a bit!

Scrooge: You can rest your eyes once you land, not when you’re in the air!

Launchpad: I’ve been flying for twenty hours plus, Mr. McD! I’m a real fighter but that sandman guy is pretty tough! Good thing I got that old McQuack spirit coursing through my veins and- why is the ground right in front of us?

 

The three realize that Launchpad has put the plane on a rapid descent and they’re about to slam into the ground. Launchpad tries to pull up but it’s too late, and the plane crashlands in the savanna. Once safely on the ground, Louie casually wakes up, asking his relatives if they’re there yet. Launchpad is slapped in the back of his neck by Scrooge. They get out and inspect the damage, and quickly conclude that this bird isn’t getting back in the air anytime soon. They see a road sign posted saying they’re just a few miles away from Johannesburg by lucky coincidence, and so faced with the choice of either walking to Johannesburg or get eaten alive by lions, they choose the former. As they start walking, eagle-eyed viewers can spot the plane Magica and the beagles boarded descending in the background. We get a montage of the ducks traversing the savanna, stalked by a few ferocious animals along the way. They soon start entering civilization though, and Scrooge pulls out a map of Johannesburg pointing everyone to where Glomgold’s money bin is, which happens to be the other side of town. Along the way they find a rental car dealer, and after some fiddling Scrooge manages to convince the dealer to rent him the car for a lower price. Just before they depart, Scrooge looks back at the dealer in suspicion. A suspicion that doesn’t prove unfounded for it happens to be a beagle. The beagle watches the ducks depart before he goes into a back room to reveal that Magica and the Beagle Boys were listening in on them the whole time. The fake dealer, Tsotsi Beagle, gives a status update to his cousins.

 

Scrooge and friends arrive at Glomgold’s money bin which as mentioned earlier is out by the countryside. Scrooge tells everyone to wait in the car while he walks up to the front door and try to get Glomgold’s attention. He rings the doorbell, nobody answers. He knocks on the massive steel door, nobody answers. He sees a silhouette of Glomgold through the office window and decides to call him.

 

Scrooge: Heeey! Flinty! It’s me, Scrooge McDuck! I came here because I just wanted to say, uh…

[ Scrooge looks back at the others, locking eyes with Huey before turning back to Glomgold ]

Scrooge: [ sighs ] I need ‘ye help with something!

[ Through the steel door, Scrooge hears someone slowly, slowly, SLOOOWLY descending the stairs. A tired-looking Glomgold opens the door. ]

Glomgold: The great Scrooge McDuck needs ‘me help?

Scrooge: ...Yes.

Glomgold: Well you ain’t getting it, buzz off! [ slams the door shut ]

Scrooge: I’m sorry, okay?! I didn’t know holding Christmas parties with giraffes meant that much to ‘ye!

Huey: [ clears throat ]

Scrooge: … [ sighs even deeper ] I’m sorry for makin’ fun of ‘ye.

Glomgold: [ reopens the door ] Give me a reason why I should help ‘ye.

Scrooge: You want to keep the title past New Year’s? I can make that happen!

Glomgold: I want another year.

Scrooge: ...Urgh, fine! I can make that happen too! Just help us out!

Glomgold: AND I want a VIP seat at your Christmas gathering.

Scrooge: ...Why?!

Glomgold: So I can spend all Christmas constantly spittin’ in 'yer face!

 

Scrooge lets out the deepest sigh he could possibly make, slipping in a few indecipherable profanities under his breath. He and Glomgold shake hands on very shaky terms, and Scrooge begins explaining to him what the gist is. Glomgold, having collaborated with Magica in times past, knows very well the dangers of her attaining the Amulet of Midas (even if none of them know if it’s real or not, they can’t take any chances). It actually doesn’t take long to convince him to tag along for if Magica does end up with the power of Midas Touch she’s going to turn gold into such a commodity it’ll destroy the world economy, and that’ll definitely throw a wrench into their little competition. So now the question is, where do they even start? Simple, go back to the beginning. On their way back to Johannesburg, Scrooge, with some improv from Glomgold, begins recounting the tale of how the two first crossed paths.

 

We flashback to the Witwatersrand gold rush in the 1880s. On his quest to seek fame and fortune, a young Scrooge had just arrived at the Kimberley diamond mine (which was already packed with miners searching for diamonds) but chose to bypass it for he had heard rumors of large vasts of gold being discovered up north. Glomgold, then a lone boer, had been caught trying to steal diamonds from the other miners and got tied and sent off on a stampeding water buffalo as punishment. Scrooge saved him and as a show of gratitude Glomgold offered to be his guide and assistant on their search for gold in the newly established Johannesburg (Glomgold claiming his “advisor” told him to move business up north). The following night they camp out on the savanna where Scrooge tells him his dream of becoming the world’s richest duck, all while Glomgold appears highly skeptical of Scrooge’s ambitions. Glomgold, promising to teach Scrooge a lesson eventually, pledges to stand guard for any preying lions in the night. Scrooge wakes up to find that Glomgold has bolted with everything he has: his cart, his gear, even the wood for campfire. Glomgold had taught him a lesson, alright. Now cornered by ferocious animals of all species, Scrooge snaps, screaming “NOBODY DOUBLE-CROSSES A MCDUCK!” and in a quick but epic scene fights off all the now spooked animals with various tricks he learned while traversing the American Midwest, all while ranting about what a traitor Glomgold is. He manages to tame a freakin’ lion since it suited his mood (using the same tricks he used to tame wild horses) and rides with it into Johannesburg. He finds Glomgold in a bar celebrating himself pulling a fast one on Scrooge. Once he realises Scrooge is still alive, Glomgold starts stuttering.

 

Glomgold: Sc-sc-Scrooge McDuck! I’m so glad you’re alive! I-i-i-i-I was abducted by a band of Zulu warriors with big, nasty spears! Honest!

Scrooge: Cut the crap, ‘ya backstabbing snake! I told you I learn from experience! Villains of more noble ink than you made me cautious, resourceful and scrappy… BUT you…

Glomgold: ...M-me?

Scrooge: You just made me mean.

 

Scrooge reveals he’s found a gun on the way to Johannesburg. Glomgold begs him not shoot him, and Scrooge says he doesn’t shoot people or animals, but he’s going to show Glomgold a few tricks he learned in the Midwest. He fires at a bottle of tar which sprays all over Glomgold before shooting up an incidentally placed mattress which covers Glomgold in feathers, before making Glomgold dance to his bullets. Now publicly humiliated, Glomgold runs off and tries to find a gun for himself, only to run straight into Scrooge’s lion.  Scrooge then picks up a clawed at Glomgold and carries him to the local prison. Once jailed, Scrooge walks off with his lion in hand while Glomgold shouts threats at him from behind bars.

 

Glomgold: I’ll get you for this, McDuck! Someday I’ll be somebody, and I’ll eat little nobodies like you for afternoon tea!

Scrooge: You’ll never be somebody, sonny! No matter how much money you might make, it won’t mean shucks if ye’re a lyin’, cheatin’, good-for-nothin’ dirtdealer!

Glomgold: And who do you think you are, Saint Mary?!

Scrooge: ...Goodbye… whatever ‘yer name is. [ walks off ]

Glomgold: Glomgold! FLINTHEART GLOMGOOOLD!!!

 

Fade back to the present. The group have arrived in downtown Johannesburg and are trying to decipher where the old neighborhood would be today. Glomgold tells Scrooge he earned his first legitimate coin after their first encounter somewhere in that town, and being careless at that age he spent it at the bar almost immediately. They look around and see high-rise buildings where the old town used to be.

 

Launchpad: ...I don’t get it, where’s the old town?

Dewey: It was back in the 1880s, Launchpad, Johannesburg’s changed a lot since then!

Louie: ...So what do we do now?

Huey: [ brings out the Junior Woodchucks Guidebook ] According to old building plans the bar was supposed to be right… there!

 

Huey points at an abandoned building with a “for sale” sign placed in front of it. Glomgold gleans at Scrooge who sighs and walks inside the building and comes out with a contract for him to buy the place. Glomgold calls his construction company and a short while later the whole site is surrounded with workers preparing to tear the old building down and start digging. Launchpad, for some reason, is tasked to start drilling right through the basement floor. Scrooge and Glomgold are upstairs looking at detailed plans of the area when they’re approached by a familiar beagle-looking person in a construction hat.

 

Scrooge: ...Haven’t I seen ‘ye somewhere before?

Tsotsi: Wha’? Me? Nah, man. We just met.

Scrooge: ‘Ye look like the guy I got the car from. Do you happen to be related?

Tsotsi: Oh that was just ma’ uh… half… quarter cousin!

Glomgold: Quarter cousin?

Tsotsi: ‘Ye!

Glomgold: Listen, boi, I don’t know who you are but we are short on time here, get to work!

Tsotsi: Will do, boss!

 

Tsotsi begins pretend-working while calling his cousins over walkie-talkie and telling them to wait for his signal. Meanwhile, Launchpad is drilling all over the place (despite clear instructions from Scrooge to drill in one spot) before the floor suddenly gives away and he falls down through it. Everyone (Scrooge, the triplets, Glomgold and Tsotsi) rush over to the hole.

 

Huey: Launchpad! Are you okay?!

Launchpad (off-screen): I’m all cool, Huey! I landed on this conveniently placed mat! Oh look, there are rats down here! Hi, rat!

Scrooge: Launchpad, what do ‘ye see down there?!

Launchpad (off-screen): Uh… a house… another house… and another house… Lots of houses…

 

Glomgold tells his workers to set up a crane to lift them down the chasm with. With the IMAX format we’re allowed a wide-spanning shot of the old town from Scrooge’s flashback, revealed to have been left intact while the new Johannesburg was built on top of it. Launchpad greets them down on the ground, landing right next to the mattress store from way back. They turn on their flashlights and look around for a bit (with Scrooge and Glomgold reminiscing on old memories) before finding the bar. Glomgold exposits that once the gold dried up, most of old Johannesburg was left abandoned, and looking around the bar it’s clear that people left in a bit of a hurry. Scrooge walks over to the cash register and to his surprise there are a lot of coins left in it. He asks Glomgold if he can remember what his first coin looked like. Glomgold insists that it was a shilling, and Scrooge finds one lone shilling in a pile of pennies. He lets Glomgold inspect the coin.

 

Glomgold: ...I think this is the one.

Dewey: Really? After all these years? How awfully convenient.

Louie: Dewey, this is a cartoon. You’re fighting a losing battle.

Huey: ...What are you two talking about?

Scrooge: We can’t really know for sure, but it’s probably as close as we’re ever gonna get. Ye’re gonna keep it, Flinty?

Glomgold: ...Nah. You can have it. [ flips the coin at Scrooge ] In a year when I’m billions ahead of ‘ye, ye’re gonna need it! [ chuckles ]

Scrooge: ...I guess I walked right into that one.

 

Watching from afar, Tsotsi calls his brothers and gives them the signal. Above ground, Glomgold’s workers are startled by a construction vehicle ramming through the barricades and driving right into the building. Bigtime, Bouncer and Burger step out, guns in hand, and threaten everyone to hand them over the crane. Bigtime fires into the air which is heard by the ducks down below. That’s when Tsotsi reemerges with his own gun pointed at him.

 

Tsotsi: Oi! The coin! Hand it over!

Scrooge: …Ye’re a beagle, aren’t ye?

Tsotsi: [ removes disguise ] You got me, ubogo!

Scrooge: I knew ye looked familiar. That’s why I’m not going to feel bad for what I’m about to do next.

 

Scrooge grabs the cash register and kicks it at Tsotsi. Tsotsi responds by firing at them forcing them to cover behind the bar. By accident Scrooge drops the coin which rolls across the floor allowing Tsotsi to grab it. Bigtime and Burger arrive (while Bouncer is above ground holding Glomgold’s workers hostage) and Tsotsi throws it to them telling them to deliver it to Magica. Tsotsi pulls out a machine gun.

 

Bigtime: Wait, you’re really going to use that?!

Tsotsi: [ loads gun ] Welcome to South Africa, maat! Get the bakkie rolling!

 

Tsotsi begins spreading bullets all over the bar stopping Scrooge and the others from pursuing Bigtime.  Louie leaps out and dives behind a counter just barely escaping Tsotsi’s bullets. He calls on Scrooge to hand him his number one dime since he’s got an idea, pointing at a chandelier which happens to be right above Tsotsi. Reluctantly, Scrooge throws his dime to Louie who aims the coin at the rope holding the chandelier up (the coin has been thinned over the years to the point that it’s sharp like a razor blade). He cuts the rope with it which falls down on Tsotsi knocking him out temporarily. Up above, Bigtime and Burger reemerge and tell Bouncer to start the truck. Once they bolt, Glomgold’s workers look down the hole and hand the ducks a rope for them to climb up with. Once up on ground, Glomgold tells a worker as the owner of the company that they need to borrow his car, promising that Scrooge pays for any damages (Scrooge wants to protest but knowing the pledge he made to Glomgold he keeps quiet and grinds his teeth instead).

 

We cut briefly to Johannesburg Airport. A pair of pilots are boarding a commercial airplane and going through their daily routine before they let passengers on. They notice a woman sitting in one of the passenger seats even though they’re not supposed to let anyone on yet. One of the pilots walks up to the woman to tell her she’s not supposed to be onboard yet, but the woman (revealed to be Magica) sprays dust on his face which (to the other pilot’s horror) makes his body contort in horrific ways until he’s turned into essentially a mindless zombie. She orders her zombie to throw the other pilot out and we cut outside to show the other pilot being flung out through the cockpit door. Inside the airport terminal, the plane heading to Naples is suddenly cancelled to the passengers’ chagrin and the flight attendants’ confusion. Back in downtown, the ducks instigate a car chase with the beagles where they drive downtown swerving around corners in high speeds. Bigtime orders Bouncer to dump a load of barrels at the ducks’ path and so he does. Launchpad, who’s steering, swerves down an alleyway to avoid the incoming barrels.

 

Scrooge: Launchpad, you know where you’re going, right?!

Launchpad: Don’t worry, Mr. McD! I got this map right here- [ map blows out the window ] Oops, now I don’t!

Scrooge: Launchpad, you pelican-sized nitwit!

Huey: STAIRS, RIGHT AHEAD!

Launchpad: Oh, bother!

 

The car flies down a couple of staircases, flinging everyone around inside. They exit out onto another road were just by lucky coincidence the beagles are heading in their direction. Bigtime sees them and makes a dramatic u-turn which flings Burger onto a lever which detaches the truck’s crane, causing it to swerve around them. We cut briefly back to the construction site where Tsotsi emerges from the hole and hijacks a high-speed vehicle to pursue the others with. On the road, Launchpad tells the others he’s got a great idea (spoiler alert: it’s not great) and he lends a confused Glomgold the steering wheel while he climbs on top of the car.

 

Scrooge: What the blastin’ bagpipes are ‘ye doing?!

Launchpad: Just doing what a McQuack would do, Mr. McD! [ prepares to jump ]

Scrooge: LAUNCHPAD, DON’T-

 

Launchpad leaps onto the beagles’ crane, just barely making it. Bigtime sees Launchpad and swerve’s the crane around violently in the hopes of throwing him off, but Launchpad holds on tight. In one scene Bigtime even swerves the crane right into a building but Launchpad reemerges with someone’s underwear shoved in his face. Scrooge and the others tell Launchpad to hang on while they drive up close to him, but Tsotsi emerges from behind a corner and fires his machine gun at them, forcing them to swerve off-road. The truck continues driving down the street (crashing through the obligatory fruit cart along the way) before Bigtime successfully manages to throw Launchpad off the crane, who flies right into and breaks a fountain. The other ducks manage to escape Tsotsi who bails to join up with his cousins. The ducks drive up to a dizzy Launchpad who sits in the fountain getting water sprayed in his face.

 

Launchpad: Did I do good, Mr. McD?

Scrooge: Launchpad, when I think ‘me expectations of you are low enough ‘ye still manage to surprise me!

Launchpad: … [ turns to the ducklings ] Is that good or bad?

Huey: I think bad.

Launchpad: Aw, man… [ dove begins pecking on his head ]

 

The beagles burst through the gates leading to the airport and track down the plane Magica hijacked. She has her zombified pilot open up the cargo doors for them allowing them to climb aboard. Scrooge and the others soon arrive, spotting Magica in the cockpit window of a plane taking off from the runway. “NOO!! NOOOOOO!!!!” he screams as he sees Magica’s plane disappearing into the horizon. All is not lost however for they spot a private plane leaving a hangar and rush over to it. Scrooge attempts to hastily buy the plane from the pilot, offering up to a million dollars for it. The pilot however refuses to sell it. With nowhere else to turn to, Glomgold makes a radical suggestion.

 

Glomgold: He’s not gonna budge, McDuck! You can’t win this one fair and square!

Scrooge: What the haggis do ‘ye mean by that?!

Glomgold: It’s times like this you pull a Glomgold and bend the rules a bit! [ grabs the pilot by the coat ] GET OUT!

Pilot: HEY, WHAT ARE YOU- [ gets thrown off the plane ]

Glomgold: I’ll have McDuck reimburse ‘ye! [ turns to Scrooge ] Get on!

 

With no time to deliberate over what Glomgold just did, the ducks get on the plane and drive it down the runway while the pilot chases after them on foot. He doesn’t get far as they soon achieve take-off and begin their pursuit of Magica. Now with some time to breathe, Scrooge asks Glomgold just what the hell he’s thinking.

 

Glomgold: You keep telling me you earned all your fortune fair and square without ever screwing over anyone. I don’t believe that one bit!

Scrooge: Flinty, you can’t just-

Glomgold: Try telling it straight to my face, I dare 'ye!

[ Scrooge goes silent. He looks back at others who show concern. ]

Scrooge: There… was that one time…

[ The triplets and Launchpad go “WHAT?!” ]

Scrooge: I don’t want to dwelve on it, but… it got ugly. I’m leaving it at that.

Glomgold: That’s all I needed to hear.

Launchpad: ...So… where’re we going?

Huey: Magica’s going to use Glomgold’s first coin to try and forge an amulet in the fiery pits of Mount Vesuvius. We need to stop her before she gets there.

Launchpad: Italy it is, then. I’m hungry for some pasta, anyway.

 

They continue to fly in silence. Huey locks eyes with Scrooge but then turns away, as Scrooge hangs his head in shame.

 

DECEMBER 4TH

 

We’re back in Naples. The camera pans down towards the city where the beagles and Magica are trying to navigate through traffic trying to find an opening to get to Mount Vesuvius.

 

Bigtime: Urgh, rush hour! The ducks are gonna catch up to us at this rate!

Magica: Let me handle it.

 

Magica uses her magic to force the preceding cars aside, some even being flung off-road, allowing the beagles a path to the volcano. Up in the sky, the ducks are flying in as a storm begins brewing over the city. Dewey uses a telescope to look down at the city and sees the beagles’ vehicle ramming through the streets.

 

Dewey: I see them! They’re heading straight for the volcano!

Louie: We can’t land at the airport, we won’t catch up to them in time!

Scrooge: No, we won’t! [ turns to Launchpad ] Launchpad! Now might be the time for one of ‘yer “landing procedures”!

Launchpad: Will do, Mr. McD!

Glomgold: Wait, why are ‘ye putting quotations around “landing procedures”?

Scrooge: Buckle up, Flinty! It’s gonna get bumpy!

 

Magica sees the duck’s plane descending on Mount Vesuvius. Enraged, she tells the beagles to step on it, but Bigtime is driving as fast he can. Thus, Magica brings out a secret weapon: she pours magic dust on the car’s tires which makes the car suddenly go three times its current speed, allowing them to make it to the volcano around the same time Launchpad “lands” the plane on the rocky surface. In a dramatic slow-motion shot the beagles car flies right over them and continues ascending before the tires burn out, stranding them a few hundred feet up. Magica gets out and bolts towards the summit while Scrooge pursues. The others try to follow but the beagles intercept them, leading to a fisticuff brawl between the beagles and Launchpad/Glomgold while the triplets sneak past and pursue Scrooge. Magica reaches the summit and has already rigged up a mechanism which allows her to sink the coin into the lava using a metal basket. She’s already halfway down when Scrooge catches up to her.

 

Scrooge: That’s enough, Magica! You don’t even know if it’s the right coin or not!

Magica: Well, there’s only one way to find out, right Scroogie?! HEHEHEHAAHAAHAA!!!

Scrooge: Urgh, I liked you better when you were only after my coin!

 

Scrooge tackles Magica, causing her to drop the rope which plunges the basket and the coin into the lava. Magica regains her feet and tries to rescue the coin but it’s too late, it’s already descended into the lava and melted. She waits for a few seconds for something to happen, but nothing does. More pissed than ever, she turns to Scrooge.

 

Scrooge: See? Told ‘ya!

Magica: ...You have ruined things for me for the last time!

 

Magica lifts Scrooge up in the air and throws him against the volcano wall. She begins charging up a lightning bolt to finally end Scrooge’s life with… but before she can do it, the volcano starts to rumble. She looks back into the lava pit and sees it’s starting to boil, indicating an eruption is about to happen. She begins giggling like a psychotic schoolgirl as Scrooge gets back on his feet just as the triplets arrive to help. Scrooge tells the three they need to leave right now.

 

Huey: What about Magica?!

[ Scrooge looks over and sees Magica cackling. ]

Scrooge: I don’t think she’s coming with us, let’s go!

 

The four rendezvous with Launchpad and Glomgold and make their way down the volcano as it begins to erupt. The Beagle Boys (and Tsotsi) also see what’s happening and decide to bail too, stranding Magica inside the volcano as it bursts, lighting up the dark skies with a massive fireball. In the far distance, the wizards and witches of the council see the volcano erupting and on Cornelius’ command decide to take action, teleporting their way to the volcano and using their combined strength to create a magic shield around the summit protecting Naples and surrounding cities from harm (although they’re still being evacuated). The ash plumes descend on Magica’s cottage and vaporizes it completely, and we get a brief shot of the time candle (remember that?) being buried in the ashes. As the eruption quickly cedes, we fade to a while later at Naples airport where the ducks are being treated by paramedics even if they didn’t sustain any significant injuries. Glomgold asks Scrooge what happened to the coin, and Scrooge tells him it’s gone forever, and so is Magica too, presumably. Scrooge tells his grand-nephews and Launchpad they can hitch a ride back to Duckburg on one of Scrooge’s cargo planes (he ain’t giving up passenger seats for that), and for some reason Glomgold wishes to tag along.

 

Scrooge: ...I thought ye’d go back to Johannesburg?

Glomgold: I want a contract on ‘yer pledge, McDuck! Signed and everything!

Scrooge: [ sighs ] Alright! You may have been right about me, but I ain’t gonna bend my way out of this one. You want duck or pork for the Christmas table?

Glomgold: I think I’ll go with duck. Make sure you put a top hat on it and everything, hehehe…

Scrooge: Don’t make me seat you next to Donald!

Huey: ...Uncle Scrooge, Donald’s not coming!

Scrooge: ...What?

Huey: They denied his leave. He’s not coming for Christmas this year. At this rate he may not even be home for the next Christmas either.

Scrooge: ...Huey… I’m sorry.

Huey: You know what, forget about it… [ walks off ]

Scrooge: …

Glomgold: Family troubles, eh?

Scrooge: What would you even know about it?

 

Scrooge runs after Huey, leaving Glomgold at the bench as something starts slowly dawning on him. We cut to everyone boarding a cargo plane as they take a final look back at Mount Vesuvius, Scrooge wishing a presumably deceased Magica a merry Christmas under his breath just out of respect. We see them take off, Huey sitting in silence refusing to talk to Scrooge while Launchpad keeps Dewey and Louie company.

 

The plane flies off into the horizon, but instead of ending the film here the camera turns away and back to Mount Vesuvius, flies past it and focuses on the ruins of Pompeii down south. Scattered ash have fallen onto the side covering it in dust, but soon a somehow still alive Magica bursts out trying to regain her breath while spitting ash from her mouth. Her crow Poe reappears and tells her the cottage is gone, but Magica shows little concern over that, thinking it was a piece of junk anyway. She tries to lift herself up but finds something heavy… and glowing… is wrapped around her neck. She manages to pull herself up and discovers, to her and Poe’s shock, she’s carrying an amulet. The Amulet of Midas.

 

Magica: What… how… why…

Poe: Kraah!

Magica: The legends were true… The legends were true!!

 

She sees a nearby ruined pillar and walks up to it, gently placing her hand on its side and watches as it turns into gold. She begins cheering, dancing around the place turning all the rubble into gold along the way. She finds a pair of clean-up workers arriving on site and orders them to drive her back to where her cottage used to be, offering her a whole stone of gold in return. Naturally, the two workers happily accept to help her out. We cut back to said cottage where the Beagle Boys (and Tsotsi) have returned to the site wearing mouth covers.

 

Tsotsi: Why're we back here again, boss?

Bigtime: That witch’s got more than a few valuables at her place. We gotta find them before the cleanup crew does!

Bouncer: Then we can sell them on the black market, right?

Bigtime: Correct, Bouncer!

Burger: And then we can buy ALL the prunes!

Bigtime: ...You know what, I’ll allow it this time. Yes, Burger, we can buy ALL the prunes!

Magica: Isn’t it a bit rude to ransack a deceased woman’s property?

Bigtime: What do you know about- [ turns to see Magica standing behind them ] GAH!! You’re alive?!

Magica: Alive and feeling better than ever.

 

Magica demonstrates her new ability by turning the beagles’ car into gold. The beagles are, to put it mildly, impressed. Correctly guessing that the amulet around Magica’s neck is allowing her to do that, Bigtime pulls out a gun at her and tells his relatives to follow his lead.

 

Magica: ...I thought we were friends.

Bigtime: As long as you got that thing ‘round your neck, darling, we’re not friends.

Magica: You know, my one mistake in all of this was expecting more from you beagles…

 

Magica takes off the amulet, the beagles thinking she’s going to hand it over, but instead she reaches into her pocket and throws a bottle which hits Bouncer in the face. Nothing appears to happen aside from Bouncer sneezing.

 

Bigtime: Bouncer, you okay?

Bouncer: Yeah, it just tickles in ma’ nose a bi-

 

Bouncer freezes. His body starts contorting in similarly horrific ways like the waitress and the pilot did earlier in the movie. Magica, thinking she’s turning Bouncer into a small lizard or a fly, smiles cockishly. To her surprise though, Bouncer actually starts growing in size. His skin turns into scales, his arms are turning into wings, and his body begins morphing into that of a ten story tall ferocious dragon (think Smaug crossed with the Game of Thrones dragons). Magica picks up a shard from the bottle she threw and finds out she had accidentally brought the dragon potion with her.

 

Tsotsi: ...You know what, this is too much even for me! [ runs away ]

Burger: ...Bouncer?

[ The Bouncer dragon roars, startling people all the way down in Naples. ]

Bigtime: … [ turns to Magica ] What the fruit basket did you do?!

Magica: ...Oops.

Bigtime: [ points gun at Magica ] TURN HIM BACK TO NORMAL OR I’LL PUT A BULLET IN YOUR HE-

 

The dragon lunges down and snatches Bigtime by the mouth. It then throws a screaming Bigtime several hundred feet in the air before devouring him. Burger sees a beagle-shaped lump going down the dragon’s throat before he too decides to run. The dragon lunges at Magica but stops just a few feet in front of her, tilting its head like it wants to be petted. Magica quickly realises the dragon sees her as its master. Not wanting to turn it into gold, she puts the amulet in her pocket and mounts her newly acquired dragon (Poe seats himself on the dragon’s horns) and tells it they’re going to pay a certain few people a visit. The Napleans look up in horror as they see a massive dragon fly past them and head inlands.

 

Cut to the Council of Wizards and Witches. Cornelius is rendezvousing with all the other wizards after successfully protecting the surrounding areas from the eruption. Maya is there, asking around if anyone’s seen Magica, but she quickly comes to terms with the fact that she probably caused the eruption. That’s when they hear a dragon roar from a distance. Numerous wizards and witches walk out to the castle balconies to see Magica riding towards them with her dragon. Cornelius, realising what Magica has come for, tells all the magicians present to engage all defenses. The dragon dives towards the castle and rams the top tower, preventing it from cloaking itself. Magica orders her dragon to breathe fire around the castle preventing most of the magicians from leaving. Cornelius teleports towards her and tells her to cease fire, for if she wishes to negotiate, he can make that happen. Magica deliberates for a bit but surprisingly chooses to hear him out. Magica is brought inside the castle, being told they’re taking her to the council chamber, but she realises too late they’re taking her to the Eternal Chasm (which is revealed to be a massive whirlpool below the castle). She’s cornered by the five council members and Maya, charging up their magic bolts.

 

Cornelius: It’s over, Magica! Repent or be banished down the chasm!

Magica: Oh master, you sly dog.

Maya: Magica, I don’t know what you did back at Mount Vesuvius, but this is NOT cool!

Magica: You all doubted me. You thought I was chasing a legend. How do you all feel now?

Mustrum: Last chance, Magica, don’t make us have to do this!

Maya: Magica, please listen to them! This has gone too far, you need to stop this!

Magica: Did you remember to take a picture, Maya?

Maya: Magica… as your friend… please.

[ Magica, seemingly realising it might just be over, lowers her guard and squeezes out a tear. ]

Magica: All I ever wanted… was to be respected like you, master.

Cornelius: Walk away, Magica. You’ll be dehexified, but you can walk away.

Magica: If there’s just one thing I wish to do… it’s just to shake your hand.

 

Cornelius ponders, but eventually accepts. Magica reaches out her right hand, and Cornelius reaches out his. Maya starts thinking something’s off, but she realises too late that Magica is keeping her left hand in her pocket, holding a tight grip on her amulet.

 

Maya: MASTER, DON’T-

[ Magica and Cornelius’ hands touch. Cornelius hand suddenly starts turning into gold. ]

Cornelius: W-what did you do?! MAGICA, WHAT DID YOU DO?!!

[ Maya and the others look on in horror as the gold spreads over Cornelius’ body. Magica stands around and smiles. ]

Cornelius: GAAH! AAARGH!

Magica: Arrivederci, master.

Cornelius: MAGICA, WHAT HAVE YOU DO-

 

Cornelius is turned into a statue of gold. Magica walks up to Cornelius’ frozen body, taps on his nose going “boop!” and watches as he plunges into the Eternal Chasm and vanishes. The other four council members attack Magica but she slides past their magic bolts, touching each of them while playfully shouting “Tag! You’re out!” and watch them meet the same fate as Cornelius. She then corners a frightened Maya, promising her she won’t turn her into gold should she point her to something she wants. We cut to the two before the steel door protecting the wand of Merlock. Magica walks up to the door and touches it, the gold breaking the door’s spell and releasing it from the hinges causing it to collapse. She walks inside the chamber to find the wand. Not wanting to turn it into gold and thus remove its powers, she puts her amulet back in her pocket. She grabs hold of the wand and can feel its power coursing through her veins.

 

Maya: You are dealing with the most powerful forces on Earth, Magica. Please… I beg you... don’t do anything reckless…

Magica: “Reckless”? Like this?

 

To Maya’s shock, Magica snaps the wand like a twig. A burst of energy fills the room and begins inhabiting Magica, causing massive cracks below her feet as she falls to her knees. We cut to Maya’s horrified reaction as the shadow of Magica rises up and begins cackling maniacally.

 

Cut to the ducks arriving back in Duckburg. They meet up with Duckworth at the airport (who notes Glomgold being with them but doesn’t question it otherwise) who takes them to the money bin. They’re greeted to their confusion by a panicking Emily running out to them.

 

Emily: Mr. McDuck! Everything’s chaos! The whole world is going mad!!

Scrooge: Simmer down, Emily! Talk to me slowly!

Emily: The value of gold… [ breathes heavily ] Is collapsing fast!

[ Scrooge, Glomgold, the triplets and Launchpad all go “WHAT?!” ]

Emily: The money bin… everything’s… [ faints ]

Huey: Miss Featherby!

 

They bring a fainting Emily inside where Scrooge is approached by a whole slew of his accountants all shouting loudly at him and throwing papers all over the place. Scrooge yells at everyone to calm down and explain what’s going on.

 

Accountant #1: The value of gold has collapsed eighty percent in the last eight hours!

Scrooge: EIGHTY PERCENT?! HOW?!!

Accountant #2: Sir, our Italian division is reporting a crisis in Naples!

Scrooge: NAPLES?!?!

Huey: Naples?! Does that mean Magica’s…

 

Huey runs over to the tv and turns it on, revealing a newscast reporting on Magica’s escapades. We cut between them and Magica back in Italy, gleefully dancing to Tchaikovsky's “Swan Lake” while turning the streets of Naples into gold causing chaos everywhere she goes. With the magic acquired from Merlock’s wand, she starts turning the frightened masses into either mindless zombies or furry little animals by the hundreds. The Italian army is called to deal with the situation but they’re held back by Magica’s dragon surrounding the city in flames while she conjures up a massive storm to keep out any intrusion from the air. Back in Duckburg, Louie looks out the window to see that the city is already descending into chaos, people rioting and looting the streets while people both rich and poor cry out for having lost everything they owned in a matter of hours. Scrooge watches in despair as the value collapses further, while Glomgold calls his company ordering them to sell everything. Scrooge gets the same idea, yanking a phone from a bewildered accountant and screaming loudly into it.

 

Scrooge: SELL! SELL! DON’T JUST STAND THERE, WHEREVER YOU ARE!! SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL!!!!!!!

 

Cut to black.

 

DECEMBER 23RD

 

Naples, Italy. Poe is flying over the wrecked city showing the remaining population walking around as zombies before ascending Mount Vesuvius were the dragon is resting at the summit. The crow lands on the dragon’s head, and reflected in its eyes is a large fortress where Pompeii used to stand. The crow flies to that fortress and enters through a tiny window meant for him, and we see Magica, donned in a golden suit of armor, putting up the finishing touches on her fortress by lifting gigantic boulders just through her magic alone and placing them accordingly. She’s also had herself made a pair of raptor gloves which allows her to wear the amulet without having to worry about touching things and turn them into gold as well as allow her crow to sit on her arm. We also see Maya, having been dehexified by Magica and locked in chains, watching out over the destroyed surroundings.

 

Magica: Should I go with the red carpet or the blue one?

Maya: …

Magica: Red it is! Suits my mood a little better.

 

Magica snaps her fingers and the previously blue carpet turns red. She continues to bask herself in her own glory, but low-key admits to a scornful Maya that she’s starting to get a bit restless.

 

Magica: What to do, what to do? Oh, it’s almost Christmas! Why don’t we pay an old friend a visit over the Holidays, Maya?

Maya: …

Magica: What’s that? I didn’t hear you!

[ Magica shoots a lightning bolt which stuns Maya. ]

Maya: Urgh! Haven’t you had enough?! You got what you wanted!

Magica: There’s something I still need to do, dear. Something I’ve been waiting til the right opportunity for.

 

Magica snaps her fingers again and they’re both instantly teleported to Duckburg, or rather, what’s left of it.

 

 

(0:00 - 1:46)

Magica looks down the ruined main street and sees a derelict-looking money bin in the distance. She tags Maya along as they slowly traverse the street and take in the sights, much to Magica’s delight and Maya’s despair. Everything’s boarded up. Wrecked cars litter the place. A bunch of men in shredded business suits try to comfort themselves by a flaming barrel. A newspaper blows by with the words “MCDUCK BANKRUPT” printed on it. A poor beggar woman walks up to Maya, carrying only a small cup. Magica, quite cockishly, removes her gloves and turns the cup into gold. The beggar woman drops her cup before falling to her knees and breaking down in tears. Magica and Maya soon reach the money bin and Magica turns the front gate into gold, causing the doors to collapse allowing her to just walk through. She brings Maya past the desolate hallways of the money bin. Finding the elevator to be broken, they ascend the stairs instead. They reach Scrooge’s office, and we see Scrooge, sitting in his chair all defeated and worn out. He doesn’t even react all that much to Magica’s appearance.

 

The song fades out and the following scene plays out without any music. Magica turns around, seeing the triplets, Launchpad, Emily and to Magica’s surprise Glomgold all huddled around a fire.

 

Magica: The gang’s all here! Maya, why don’t you say hello to everyone?

Maya: [ slowly raises her hand ] ...Hi.

Everyone: …

Scrooge: ...Congratulations, Magica. You’ve won. You’ve wiped out the world economy in a matter of weeks. You have turned my kingdom of gold into an empire of dirt. You must be very pleased.

Magica: Well… I’d be lying if I said watching your world crumble hasn’t been a little… cathartic.

 

Magica sees that the door to Scrooge’s vault is left open. Scrooge shows no concern about this. She walks inside and sees all these coins that are of no worth now.

 

Magica: Was it only ever wealth that drew you? Did you not stagnate when you became the richest duck in the world?

Scrooge: ...There were times when things felt a little… empty, I must admit.

 

Magica then sees the hole Scrooge made back at the beginning of the film, still covered with plastic sheets, even if they’re starting to loosen.

 

Magica: I think I’ve had enough. I’m gonna let you drown in your own sorrow for the rest of your days, Scroogie, it’s much more entertaining that way.

Scrooge: How uncharacteristically generous of you.

Magica: I know, but it’s the Holidays. Merry Christmas, Scroogie!

 

Magica exits, forcing Maya to tag along with her. Scrooge slumps further down his chair. Huey watches on, hanging his head in despair. As Magica reaches the front gates, she looks back at the money bin and decides to mess things up for Scrooge one last time. She puts her hand on the wall.

 

(“My Way” 3:15 - 4:39 )

The gold starts spreading across the outer shell of the building. Scrooge and the others feel the building swaying, and Scrooge quickly realises what Magica has done. The added weight from the concrete turning into gold damages the support beams, and the building is starting to topple with them inside it. Realising they can’t the exit the building in time through the front gate, Scrooge sees the hole and in a desperate move rips out the plastic sheets and tells everyone to grab onto it. They do so and using the plastic sheets as a makeshift parachute they leap out of the hole and glide away as the support beams give way and the money bin collapses on itself, spreading Scrooge’s fortune all over the place (not that anyone would steal them since they hold no value). They make a safe landing but Scrooge trips and his number one dime flies out of his pocket and rolls towards Magica. She puts on her gloves and picks it up as the song ends.

 

Magica: My oh my, what do we have here?

Scrooge: Just drop it, Magica! It’s worthless!

Magica: ...Judging by the tone of your voice I’m starting to think differently. Even as everything else loses its value, this one dime somehow doesn’t… Well, until now. [ removes her glove ]

Scrooge: NO!!!

 

Magica touches the dime and turns it into gold, thinking she’s ruined it for Scrooge forever. She chuckles sinisterly as she hands it back to Scrooge. Scrooge appears dismayed at first, but then he sees that all the scratches and marks are still on it. With its new golden shine, he also sees his family reflected on it.

 

Scrooge: ...Thanks, Magica. You just improved my dime.

Magica: ...What?

Scrooge: Here’s what you’ve never understood: the coin itself has never held any value to me. It’s just an American dime printed in 1875, after all. But beneath it’s silver… well, now golden surface are all the scratches and marks it has been dealt over the years. Those are the things I’ll take to ‘me grave. The memories are the things to matter to me. But in its new glimmer I also see something else I’ll cherish forever… [ points to the triplets helping the others on their feet ] My family.

Magica: …

Scrooge: And you… You’ve spent so many years chasing this dime. You got the power you wanted through different means, but as long this dime is still rolling, as long as me and my family are still standing… I’ll always win, and you’ll always lose. And I think that hurts you inside even to this day.

 

Magica is quiet. Scrooge casually puts his dime back in his pocket and dusts himself off. Magica begins shaking. She starts letting out a raging, blood curdling scream which gives Scrooge caution. Huey overhears this and sees that his uncle is in grave danger. He dashes towards him.

 

Magica: Damn you, Scrooge McDuck… DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!!

Huey: Uncle Scrooge, look out!!

 

Magica lunges at Scrooge ready turn him into gold when Huey leaps into her path, taking the “bullet” for his uncle. In a dramatic slow-motion sequence, Scrooge watches in horror as his grand-nephew is turned into gold. The gold statue of Huey falls to the ground. Magica stops and takes a step back. Scrooge falls to his knees and lifts up Huey’s corpse. We cut to Magica’s reaction.

 

Magica: Heh… heh heh… heheheheheh…. hehehehehehahahaha HAAHAAHAAHAAHAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!

 

Looking back at the dismayed Scrooge one last time, she snaps her fingers and vanishes from the scene. Dewey and Louie rush to Scrooge and find out what happened to their brother. Not wanting to believe what just transpired, Louie tries to get some kind of response from Huey, but Dewey makes him face the fact that Huey’s gone. Glomgold, Emily and Launchpad watch from afar, sharing the grief in their own way. Glomgold is especially affected by the sight of Scrooge holding the golden Huey in his arms.

 

We cut a bit ahead. Dewey and Louie have placed their brother on a pedestal and continue mourning their loss. Emily brings them a sheet she found in the ruins of the money bin to keep the two warm with. Glomgold glances at the golden remnant of Huey, then looks over and sees Scrooge sitting alone at the top of his money pile. He’s not even looking at his money though, he’s just staring into the distance. Glomgold walks up and sits down beside him.

 

Glomgold: ...There is a certain line you cross where you are not afforded the benefit of the doubt ever again. So what do you when you can’t go back? You just keep going. And going. And going. And you don’t stop. For what is there left for you should you stop? Nothing.

Scrooge: …

Glomgold: That’s why I hate you so much. You have an exit route. I can tell those children would stand by even if you didn’t own a dime. But I guess that witch just closed part of that route too, so… welcome to the club, I suppose.

Scrooge: ...I used to be you once. I understand how it feels.

Glomgold: I take it was the “incident”?

Scrooge: I drove people further away the richer I got. Once I had everything, I also had nothing. It broke me after a while. But fate gave me a second chance, so… I took it. I’ve been trying to repay my debt ever since. I wish with all my heart you do the same someday.

Glomgold: …

???: Hello? Anyone there?

 

The two ducks turn to discover that Maya is still in Duckburg. Apparently Magica didn’t bring her back to Naples when she teleported. She asks if anyone can release her from her shackles since she’s has an itch she’d like to deal with. The ducks free her and Maya immediately begs for forgiveness even if what happened wasn’t her fault.

 

Maya: I didn’t think Magica would go as far she did. I should’ve stopped her when I had the chance…

Dewey: Nobody in the realm of wizards and witches thought the Amulet of Midas was real…?

Maya: Most thought it was just a legend. Magica thought differently.

Louie: And now she basically rules the world. It’s always the ones you anticipate the least.

Scrooge: ...Doesn’t matter. She won. There’s nothing any of us can do.

Maya: [ ponders ] There is one thing...

 

Maya remembers the time candle she found in Magica’s cottage and explains its function to the ducks. They all look at each other stunned, wondering why Magica wouldn’t be using such a device herself, and Maya explains it as Magica herself put it. But while it may have proved useless to Magica, it would be worth all the money in the world to the ducks.

 

Dewey: ... Where does she keep it?!

Maya: I’m not sure. Last I saw it she brought all her stuff from what remained of her cottage into her fortress. I guess it’s still there.

Louie: So we have to break into her fortress, grab the candle, go back in time, stop Magica then and come back to a future that isn’t… you know… like this?!

Maya: She only has one candle, so you only have one shot. Are you willing to take it?

[ The ducks all look at each other. ]

Dewey: What do you think, uncle Scrooge?

Scrooge: ...Anything for Huey.

Louie: That’s what I’m talking about!

Dewey: But… how are we gonna get to Naples?

Launchpad: Well, somebody just recently had their plane brought back to the States…

Scrooge: Launchpad, you wrecked that plane!

Launchpad: The only thing that's actually damaged are the landing gears. I don’t need ‘em. I've got a plan.

Scrooge: ...Okay, I just hope I like this plan better than the last one.

 

CHRISTMAS EVE

 

Scrooge: ...I do NOT like this plan!

 

The ducks are all standing by a tall cliff. With the help of locals they’ve managed to tow the Sun Chaser to the edge of the cliff and build a small ramp that’ll drop the plane once detached. According to Launchpad, once the Sun Chaser hits the right velocity, they’ll be able to achieve lift-off. Scrooge asks what kind of science he bases that on.

 

Launchpad: The science that goes on in my brain, Mr. McD!

Scrooge: ...Remind me why I ever hired ‘ye?

Launchpad: Because my rate is five pennies an hour?

Scrooge: ...Fair enough.

Dewey: I gotta side with Uncle Scrooge, I don’t like this plan.

Louie: Come on, Dewey, it’ll be fun!

Dewey: Louie… we will die a horrible death.

Louie: ...But we’ll die having fun?

Dewey: NO WE WON’T, LOUIE!!

Glomgold: [ hands a parachute to Scrooge ] So ‘ye boys ready to do this or what?

Dewey: Why are you still here?

Glomgold: I’ve got my own debt I wish to repay. [ looks at Scrooge ]

Scrooge: … ...Let’s drop this sucka’.

 

The ducks along with Maya board the plane (despite Dewey’s protestations) and they give the signal to the locals to cut the rope. “Sure. It’s your funeral” the one local says as he cuts the rope. The plane slides down the ramp and then drops off the cliff. “...We’re gonna die.” says Dewey as the plane begins its descent. Launchpad turns on the engines and within the seconds the plane reaches terminal velocity. The plane vanishes behind a mist as the locals look on, only to celebrate when the see the plane emerging unscathed and ascending.  The ducks all cheer (except for Dewey who tells them to never do that again) as Launchpad steers the plane in the direction of Naples.

 

CHRISTMAS DAY

 

The plane approaches Naples. They see from the far distance the massive storm engulfing the place, plus the ring of fire halting their approach by land. Just outside the storm, Poe spots the plane approaching and flies back to Naples (Magica has a tiny opening in the storm just for him) alerting Magica of Scrooge’s presence.

 

Magica: The old geezer’s back for another round. Interesting.

 

Magica opens up a large enough gap in the storm for the plane to pass through unharmed. The ducks wonder why Magica would allow them in like that, but Scrooge figures if she’s going to kill him she’d rather do it by her own hand. Maya explains what the deal is with the ferocious dragon snarling at them from the mountaintops and all the people aimlessly wandering about down below. Speaking of Scrooge, he relays to everyone the plan: if anyone’s going to successfully distract Magica, it would be him. He’ll drop down to where she is (as of the moment, down at the Naples town square) while they keep flying to the fortress and hopefully not run into the dragon along the way.

 

Dewey: But Uncle Scrooge… You’re gonna get killed!

Scrooge: The whole plan hangs on going in back time and fixin’ all of this. If any of us bites it or gets in lethal trouble… don’t come back for them.

Everyone: …

Scrooge: ...Now go save the world!

 

Scrooge puts on a parachute and leaps out of the plane before anyone can stop him. Scrooge watches as the plane vanishes into the horizon and the dragon descends the mountain to greet him by the town square. Magica is there waiting for him, along with all the citizens of Naples creepily staring at him with piercing glares. Scrooge lands and is stalked by Magica’s zombie horde as he makes it to the town square where Magica greets him along with her pet dragon.

 

Magica: How’d you like my kingdom, Scroogie?

Scrooge: Not exactly a getup fit for a queen.

Magica: I’m not queen, nor even a witch… At this rate, I am closer to a God.

Scrooge: You’d fit right in with the Greek pantheon, alright.

Magica: Did you come here to die? What a noble thing to do.

Scrooge: ...I’m here for Huey.

Magica: Don’t think I didn’t see your little plane on the way here, I know you’re up to something.

Scrooge: I’ll let ‘ye figure that one out!

Magica: ...Very well. [ turns to her dragon ] See that plane up there? I want you to chase it down once I give the signal.

Scrooge: It’s me you want, Magica! Leave them be!

Magica: Oh please, Scroogie. I know you too well to do that. [ turns to her horde ] All in favor of public execution?

[ Magica’s zombie army all raise their hands. ]

Magica: The public has spoken! …Go fetch.

 

Magica’s dragon takes off while Magica orders her zombie army to start tearing Scrooge apart limb by limb. The zombies all make a mad dash at Scrooge but he manages to evade them by climbing a up lamppost, although it traps him in a sea of killer, uh.. people. Up in the sky, the dragon begins its pursuit of the Sun Chaser. Dewey tells Launchpad to step on it, but Launchpad’s going as fast as he can. Louie begins suggesting a radical idea.

 

Louie: I’m gonna do a “Louie”!

Dewey: Wait, WHAT?! What’s that gonna entail?!

Louie: I don’t know, maybe get on the back of a dragon?

Dewey: Louie, that’s suicide!

Louie: You heard the old man, as long one of us makes it back we can reverse all of this! So why not take risks while we still can? That’s what Huey would’ve wanted!

Dewey: I don’t think that’s what Huey would’ve-

Louie: TALLYHO!!! [ leaps out of the plane ]

Dewey: LOUIE!!!

[ Louie flies across the sky and is soon approached by the dragon. ]

Louie: I DIDN’T THINK THIS THROOOOOOU-

 

Louie flies right into the gaping mouth of the dragon, clearly not where wanted to go. He’s flung right down the dragon’s throat but gets stuck halfway, blocking the pipe where the dragon’s flames would’ve spurted out. Unable to set the plane ablaze, the dragon continues its pursuit regardless. Down below, Scrooge figures out he can jump on each of the zombies head and create a path for him all the way through town, much to Magica’s chagrin. She uses her magic to levitate Scrooge and several hundred zombies up in the air and Scrooge is forced to fend them off in zero gravity.

 

Scrooge: Boy, do I hope ye didn’t use to be a loyal customer! [ whacks a zombie across the face with his cane ]

Magica: Seeing you struggle so mightily… it satisfies me to a great degree.

Scrooge: Why don’t you get up here and I’ll get YE something to struggle with!

[ Magica teleports to Scrooge’s location. ]

Scrooge: ...I didn’t mean it literally!

 

Magica gently pushes Scrooge who floats into the grips of a pile of zombies, lending him to an even greater struggle. The dragon meanwhile continues pursuing the Sun Chaser (Launchpad pulls some daredevil moves while telling Dewey, Maya and Glomgold to hang on) as we cut to Louie stuck inside the dragon’s throat pulling out the Junior Woodchucks Guidebook on how to defeat dragons.

 

Louie: [ flips rapidly through the pages ] Okay, here’s probably a good one! “Dragons are sensitive to tickling.” ...Wait, really?!

 

Louie starts feeling the heat coming from down below and with no other option he begins tickling the dragon like his life depends on it (which it does). Launchpad meanwhile starts steering the Sun Chaser in the direction of the volcano instead of the fortress, telling a panicking Dewey to just trust him on this one. We start cutting between Scrooge being overwhelmed by the zombies crawling at him, Magica’s increasingly devilish glee, Launchpad steering the plane right at the mountain with the dragon in pursuit and Louie sweating from the heat as he continues tickling the beast, all with the music building up to a climax. Louie succeeds in getting a reaction from the dragon as it starts coughing before sneezing Louie out, not noticing Launchpad diverting at the last possible second resulting in the dragon ramming headfirst into the side of the mountain. The resulting landslide distracts Magica which causes Scrooge and all the zombies clutching on to him to drop to the ground. Louie deploys his parachute but is swept along with the landslide, dodging the dragon’s jaws as they both slide down the mountain. Scrooge meanwhile gets quickly back on his feet and bolts while Magica’s not looking, knocking out a few still standing zombies along the way. The dragon gets back up, now able to spew fire again, and continues pursuing the Sun Chaser.

 

Launchpad: This is probably the end of the road, guys! Y’all better jump out!

Dewey: Are you gonna be alright, Launchpad?!

Launchpad: Don’t worry about me, kid! I’m just doin’ what a McQuack would do!

Dewey: Is that the same thing as a “Louie”?!

Launchpad: What’s a “Louie”?!

Dewey: You tell me!

 

Dewey, Maya and Glomgold leap out of the plane while Launchpad flies in the opposite direction to lead off the dragon. Scrooge meanwhile has managed to find his way out of town, thinking he’s escaped Magica. Magica just teleports in on him.

 

Magica: [ sighs deeply ] You always have to do everything by yourself...

Scrooge: Welcome to my world!

 

Magica begins firing lightning bolts at Scrooge who evades them like a motherducker. Enraged, Magica begins pulling some serious force tricks and rips entire boulders from the mountain to throw in Scrooge’s direction, which he handily dodges. The dragon meanwhile fires it’s breath at the Sun Chaser which takes out the left engine, then fires again to take out the right engine. Meanwhile, Dewey, Maya and Glomgold arrive at the fortress and begin hastily searching for the candle… but they can’t seem to find it anywhere. They split up and search every shelf, closet, cabinet or locker they can find, but the candle is a no-show. Down below, Magica has managed to tire out Scrooge from the boulder chase and now has him cornered.

 

Magica: Tell me… Are your friends looking for… [ reaches into her pocket ] This?

[ Magica reveals she had the time candle in her possession the whole time. ]

Scrooge: ...You sly witch!

Magica: Oh you are too kind, Scroogie!

[ Magica lifts Scrooge up again, trapping him. ]

Magica: Do you think this thing will still work if it’s turned into gold? [ removes glove ]

Scrooge: ...Wait, why didn’t ‘ye do this from the start?!

Magica: I wasn't sure what you were up to, but I eventually figured it out. Plus, I wanted to see your long face when I finally do it!

Scrooge: That’s… not really thinking ahead.

Magica: ...Meh, I’m basically a God. I can afford to mess around a bit.

 

While Scrooge and Magica are talking back and forth, Launchpad is now in gliding mode and sees what’s going on below him. Deciding to do one of his “landing procedures”, he turns the plane in their direction while the dragon closes in on him.

 

Magica: Such a shame, Scroogie… you were so close. [ turns to see Launchpad’s plane fast approaching ] Wait, WHA-

 

The Sun Chaser skids just over Magica’s head by a few meters before coming crashing down behind them. What Magica doesn’t see is the dragon also descending and rams right into her. A close-up shot shows Magica’s hand touching the dragon’s face which of course means the dragon gets frozen into gold almost immediately, seemingly burying Magica for good once it comes to a stop. The time candle is launched several yards away, and a now freed Scrooge picks it up. He helps Launchpad out of his crashed plane and the two rendezvous with the others at the fortress. A very dusty Louie also shows up.

 

Louie: So nobody died? Cool!

Dewey: Louie… what did back there… [ puts his hand on Louie’s shoulder while heartwarming music plays ] ...Don’t you EVER do that again! That was amazingly stupid!

Louie: Blue… I think you know me by now.

Launchpad: So… what do we do with this? [ holds the time candle ]

Scrooge: Launchpad, didn’t you pay attention?!

Launchpad: ...Sorry, Mr. McD, I honestly checked out after a while there. Exposition is not my forte.

Maya: Anyone got a lighter?

Louie: You’re a witch, why don’t you light it?

Maya: I’m dehexified, remember?!

Glomgold: I got one. [ hands the lighter to Scrooge. ]

Scrooge: Well… here goes nothing.

 

Scrooge turns on the lighter, but before he can light the candle it’s shot out of his hand and the group turn to see a scorchingly raging Magica standing at the doorway, lightning striking behind her. Zoom in on everyone’s terrified reaction.

 

Scrooge: ...Run.

 

Magica fires all manner of flames and lightning bolts in the ducks’ direction while they try and evade it. Scrooge notices those bolts being noticeably weaker than before and she’s lost the ability to teleport, and Maya theorizes it might be because all of this is starting to tire her out. While the others manage to successfully evade Magica’s bolts, Scrooge, still holding on to the candle, is chased all the way out to a rather rickety suspension bridge connecting two separate towers over a wide chasm. He’s stopped in his path when Magica destroys the tower in front of him.

 

Scrooge: ..’Ye know for a God this bridge is rather shoddy construction work!

Magica: I never said I was an engineer.

[ Magica places her hand on the railing, heating it up. ]

Magica: ...You were right about me, Scroogie. It stopped being about being the richest or most powerful witch there ever could be years ago. All I wanted now… was vengeance. Not just on you, but on the whole world. I’ve enjoyed seeing you suffer, but everything must come to an end.

 

Magica starts a tiny blaze on the railing which slowly starts spreading. We cut behind the two to show a silhouetted figure, a familiar one at that, emerging.

 

Magica: I guess this is the final curtain for you. Is this how you imagined your last adventure, Scroogie?

Scrooge: I could’ve never guessed. Life’s just been one hell of a hurricane.

[ The flames begin tearing the bridge apart. Magica smiles. ]

Magica: ...Say hi to Huey for me.

Glomgold: Why don’t ye do it ‘yerself?!

 

Magica turns as she and Scrooge sees Glomgold standing right behind her. Glomgold glances at Magica having removed a glove from one of her hands, then locks eyes with Scrooge.

 

Scrooge: Flinty… what are ‘ye doin’?

Glomgold: ...Payin’ my dues.

 

Glomgold grabs Magica by the wrist and shoves her hand in his face. A confused Magica watches as Glomgold is turned into… well, gold… but she quickly realizes that by grabbing her wrist Glomgold’s locked her in a position she can’t escape from. The added weight of Glomgold plus the spreading fire causes the bridge to collapse. Scrooge leaps to a still hanging part of the bridge and then watches as a screaming Magica and a frozen Glomgold both plunge into the abyss. We see Poe sitting at the top of the ruined tower, lightning reflected in his pitch black eyes before he flies away. Down in Naples, all the zombified citizens suddenly regain their consciousness.

 

The others arrive and help Scrooge get back on the safe side of the bridge. They ask what happened to Glomgold and Magica, and Scrooge looks back over the abyss without saying anything. Dewey tells Scrooge he’s found Glomgold’s lighter and is ready to light the candle. Maya explains that as far as she’s aware only the person who lights the candle can travel back in time, and so Scrooge volunteers to do it.

 

Maya: Have you decided where you want to go?

Scrooge: ...Mount Vesuvius. December 4th. Just before Magica gets there.

Dewey: Are you sure about this?

Scrooge: I’m sure, ‘me lad.

Launchpad: [ sniffs ] I’m gonna miss you, Mr. McD…

Dewey: Launchpad, he’s not really going anywhere.

Launchpad: Oh… Hope you have a nice trip then, Mr. McD!

Maya: Remember, once your hour is up, you’ll be transported back to the present. Hopefully in a different setting.

Scrooge: ...Hopefully.

[ Scrooge turns on the lighter once more. ]

Dewey: ...To Huey.

Louie: …To Glomgold.

Scrooge: ...To the whole world.

 

Scrooge lights the candle and starts feeling dizzy as the world starts spinning around him. He falls on his back and starts feeling volcanic rock beneath his hand.

 

DECEMBER 4TH

 

Scrooge opens his eyes and sees he’s back on the summit of Mount Vesuvius. He sees the private plane crash landing on the side of the mountain as well as the beagles’ car ascending in rapid speed. Once the car crashes, Magica leaves it and marathons to the summit. Scrooge lies there waiting for her, reaching out his cane causing Magica to trip and drop the coin.

 

Magica: W-what?! How’d you get here so fast?!

Scrooge: That’d be one heck of a tale, witch!

Magica: HOW ‘BOUT I END YOUR TALE RIGHT HERE?!?!

 

Magica charges up a lightning bolt and fires at Scrooge, although she misses and hits the wall causing large piles of rubble to collapse down the throat of the volcano. The volcano starts rumbling.

 

Magica: Uh… I didn’t mean to do that!

[ Past Scrooge arrives and sees future Scrooge and Magica. ]

P. Scrooge: What in me’ blastin’ bagpipes is going on?!

F. Scrooge: ‘Ye might not wanna stick around for this one!

 

Future Scrooge leads past Scrooge away from the summit and unlike last time Magica bails too. The rest plays out like last time: the volcano erupts, the council arrives to shield the surrounding area from the ash plumes, Magica’s cottage is destroyed… As the volcanic fumes quickly cede, future Scrooge is forced to answer to past Scrooge at the airport. Future Scrooge hastily explains what happened but leaves out several important details (like the time candle, the deaths of several characters etc.), putting it as simply as Magica won, things went bad and they’re hopefully fixed now. Looking at the clock realizing he only has a few minutes left, he tells past Scrooge a few things he should’ve thought of a long time ago: have more respect for the people around him, maybe don’t grind his teeth over inviting Glomgold to the Christmas table, and most importantly…

 

 

 

(0:00 - 0:11)

F. Scrooge: ...Call ‘yer nephew!

[ Past Scrooge looks at his three grand-nephews confused. ]

F. Scrooge: ‘Yer first nephew!

P. Scrooge: …

 

(0:12 - 0:36)

Future Scrooge vanishes in time, leaving past Scrooge to ponder. We zoom in on Huey standing beside him, who realizes what future Scrooge meant.

 

(0:37 - 1:02)

We get a montage over what transpires over the following days: the Beagle Boys (and Tsotsi) return to the remains of Magica’s cottage and loot her stuff. Burger finds the time candle, but not knowing what he does he just throws it away. Bigtime tries out a bottle he found on himself, and he comically turns into a sloth. Tsotsi finds another potion that turns him into a water buffalo. During all of this, Bouncer stands around scratching his butt and lets out a minor burp.

 

(1:03 - 1:30)

Magica is caught by the council and sentenced to be banished down the Eternal Chasm. Standing over the edge to the whirlpool, she turns back to Maya and Master Cornelius, making a rude gesture to them (the camera cuts to Maya’s reaction to the gesture before Magica can show it) before dropping herself down the whirlpool.

 

(1:31 - 1:41)

The general on Donald’s ship gets a call from an unseen individual.

 

(1:42 - 1:54)

Glomgold and past Scrooge sign the contract letting him hold the title for another year and invite him to their Christmas table. Scrooge has Emily certify it before handing it to a gleeful Glomgold.

 

CHRISTMAS DAY

 

Scrooge reappears back in the present. He’s at his office desk at his currently intact money bin. He reaches into his pocket to find his number one dime, still shining in silver after all these ways. He sees Emily, finishing her work for the day and leaving, reminding Scrooge that they both should get going since they’re late for the Christmas table.

 

Scrooge: Miss Featherby… what’s the current value of gold?

Emily: Christmas eve closed at an all time high, Mr. McDuck.

Scrooge: ...It’s Christmas Day, why’re ‘ye here?

Emily: I had work left to do, Mr. McDuck. You insisted I took the day off, but I chose to stay.

Scrooge: ...Can I do anything to repay ye in kind? Nobody should be working at Christmas.

Emily: [ shrugs ] I’d ask for a leave until January but I doubt you’d grant that.

Scrooge: Miss Featherby, I’m hereby granted you leave until the seventh.

Emily: ...Really?

Scrooge: And I’m putting an extra grand in ‘yer account as a Christmas bonus. Why don’t ‘ye fly somewhere nice and sunny over the New Year’s? Preferably not Italy!

Emily: M-mister McDuck, I don’t know what to say…

Scrooge: ...Merry Christmas, Miss Featherby.

 

Emily can’t hold herself and immediately hugs her boss. We cut to a bit later where the two arrive at the McDuck mansion and are greeted by Duckworth at the door. Scrooge sees the three triplets running towards him. He hones in on a still alive Huey, and gives him a tight hug (to Huey’s confusion). Glomgold is there too, mocking Scrooge for being late.

 

Glomgold: The great host himself, late to his own party. Typical McDuck!

Scrooge: ...Love ye too, Flinty.

 

The doorbell rings. Scrooge tells Duckworth to open and, to his surprise, sees Donald standing there.

 

Huey: Uncle Donald! [ runs over and hugs his uncle. ]

Scrooge: ...Wait, how’d ye get here?

Donald: You called my superior. Took some hand wringing, but ‘ya got me on a leave!

Scrooge: [ ponders ] ...Of course I did.

 

( “That’s Life” 1:54 - 2:19)

They all go to the dining room where Launchpad is already seated and chomping down on a chicken leg. He gets stares from everyone for eating before everyone is seated, but Scrooge allows him to continue. Scrooge then sees that instead of a cooked duck there’s a roasted pig on the table.

 

Scrooge: [ turns to Glomgold ] I thought you ordered duck?

Glomgold: I changed my mind, went for the pork instead. [ pats Scrooge on the back ]

Scrooge: ...Fair enough.

 

In the film’s final scene, the ducks all get seated.

 

(2:20 - 2:32)

Donald tries cutting the pig but screws it up and he flings into one of his famous temper tantrums. While the triplets try calm their uncle down, the camera turns to Scrooge sitting on the far end of the table.

 

(2:33 - 2:40)

Scrooge stands up and Donald immediately freezes, thinking he’s going to be berated by his uncle, but instead Scrooge lifts his glass for a toast.

 

Scrooge: ...Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

(2:40 - 3:04)

 

The camera pans out from the dining room window and pans upwards to a panorama shot of a snow-covered Duckburg and the money bin lighting up in the distance.

 

ROLL CREDITS

 

MID-CREDIT SCENE

 

Magica wakes up. She’s in some kind of seemingly endless desert. Figuring this must be what the Eternal Chasm is like, she sighs and begins aimlessly walking. She is soon halted by a black cloud of smoke appearing before her.

 

Magica: ...Merlock?

Merlock (voiced by Robert Englund): Magica De Spell… I’ve heard your name many times before.

Magica: [ immediately bows ] I-I didn’t know…

Merlock: STAND UP!

[ Magica bolts back on her feet ]

Merlock: I was cast down here many years ago and had my powers sealed within my wand. I’ve been trying to escape this hellish void ever since. But you… you might just provide me a way out.

 

Zoom in on Magica’s reaction, a mix of fear and confusion, before the screen cuts to black.

 

Edited April 20, 2018 by cookie

[Ezen Baklattan]

Director: Amma Asante

Executive Producer: Steven Spielberg

Original Songs by: Stephen Schwartz, Hans Zimmer, and Georgia Stitt

Original Score by: Hans Zimmer

Director of Photography: Darius Khondji

Cast: Ari'el Stachel (Moses / The Voice), Rami Malek (Rameses), Denee Benton (Tzipporah), Golshifteh Farahadi (Miriam), Yousef Sweid (Aaron), Norm Lewis (Jethro), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Queen Tuya), Khaled Nabawy (Pharaoh Seti), Daveed Diggs (Huy), Nancy Ajram (Yocheved)

 

Genre: Musical/Historical Epic

Release Date: December 13th, Y3

Theater Count: 3,895

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, brief violence, and some disturbing imagery

Runtime: 129min (2hr, 9min)

Production Budget: $170 million

 

PREMISE: An epic live action adaptation of the hit 1998 film, this is an inspiring musical adaptation of the Bibical Exodus story, in which an unlikely prophet seeks to free the Hebrews from the oppressive Egyptian empire.

 

Spoiler

This is an adaptation of the biblical story of the Exodus. While mild artistic liberties have been taken with this story, we believe that it speaks to the true essence of the story: hope, perseverance, and justice.

 

 

(SONG: Deliver Us / River Lullaby)

 

We begin looking through the skies of Egypt, and then we see it as a reflection on water. A footstep goes into it. We then see a group of slaves toiling to erect monuments in ancient Egypt, coming with the song, “Deliver Us.” Unlike in the animated movie, the song begins with a few solos, eventually building up to a large chorus and gradually building on the slavery of the Hebrews by the Egyptian empire. Even as the Hebrews try to support each other, Egyptian slavers force them to keep working in horrid conditions.

 

The song breaks, as two Egyptian soldiers discuss orders from the Pharaoh, Seti. There have been murmurs of a rebellion from an indistinct source, and they have been commanded to not only crush any rebels, but to send a message of fear to the Hebrews. As the soldiers storm the village, we see people screaming in terror, as well as babies crying. Cut then to one woman, Yocheved, with two children, Miriam and Aaron, and a baby. She tries to calm the baby down, knowing that the guards will take him, while trying to barricade the front door.

 

The guards try to break in, triggering the family to escape through a window. As they try to make it through town unnoticed, they eventually reach a river. Knowing that they cannot turn back around, she places the baby inside a basket and puts him inside a river. She sings a lullaby and prays for his safety, and that he will find a loving home and perhaps one day return and set his people free. She heartbrokenly releases the basket into the river, as it begins to travel away. Hearing the soldiers come, she and her two eldest children hide in the grass, as she hugs them tightly, holding back tears.

 

The basket travels down the river in a perilous fashion, nearly being eaten by crocodiles and hit by Egyptian ships. Eventually, the basket reaches a calm river pulled into a beautiful palace. We see the queen of Egypt, Tuya, and her young son, Rameses. As Rameses practices swimming, he notices the basket approaching the palace. Tuya grabs the basket, smiling as she sees the baby inside. Realizing it doesn’t have a home, she decides to adopt him, giving him the name of Moses.

 

Meanwhile, Miriam, who (unlike in the animated movie) doesn’t know that Moses is safe, but she gives a prayer of her own, particularly in how she hopes he finds a family that is kind, loving, and will help him set them free. (This changes the lyrics in the above song) The musical sequence ends with Tuya carrying the baby to meet Pharaoh Seti up from the river, eventually panning out and showing the vastness of the Egyptian empire.

 

THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

 

We then see Pharaoh Seti in his throne room, as a soldier carries out the news of the successful destruction of any potential uprising. Tuya then enters with Moses and Rameses, telling him of her plans to adopt him. Seti is hesitant at first, but soon becomes stridently negative once he realizes that the baby could be someone released by a Hebrew slave. He pulls for a dagger by his throne and walks up towards Tuya, who pulls the baby away. Seti, pausing and seeing the terror in what he could have done, especially in the horrified face of Rameses, decides that they will let the baby live, and that he can never know his true lineage.

 

Cutting to ten years later, where we see that Rameses and Moses have grown up quite closely together and have become the best of friends. Rameses does tease Moses that because he is the younger child, that he won’t get the throne. Moses laughs it off, knowing that it means he can get away with more mischievous behavior. As they continue to play together, Moses and Rameses dream of the world they can create together with the power they’ll have in a few years, cherishing their brotherly friendship and having fun at the palace, including playing practical jokes on the royal priest, Huy. They also enjoy time with their pet jackals/wolves.

 

SONG: Before We Know It

 

The song has an exhilarating, fun, and innocent feel to it, eventually leading to them growing up further into adults, continuing the song into the famous chariot race scene. They race (CGI) horse chariots across town, getting into a competitive race as their competition accidentally goes too far. Moses tells Rameses to stay away from the construction sites, but Rameses, feeling egged on, refuses. Eventually, they fall into a dune of sand as the horses run away, laughing off what had just happened. Moses is certain that Seti won’t be too mad, only for the camera to move away from them and to see a furious Seti standing right next to them.

 

Back in his throne room, he curses the gods for giving him such reckless children, praying that he may live longer lest the immature Rameses take the throne for all of Egypt. Moses defends him, saying it was his idea, but Seti is less mad with him, knowing that he will not be first in line to take the throne. Rameses storms away in shame, while Moses goes to check on him. He apologizes for getting him into trouble, while Rameses complains that whenever Moses does something reckless, he always gets blamed. Rameses then figures – if he’s going to get blamed for being a prankster, he might as well be one. He drops several fruits onto Huy, much to his annoyance. Rameses and Moses laugh at one another. Moses still remarks that he will be a fine ruler, and that Seti had taught him what he knows well.

 

That night, a royal gathering is held, where Rameses is named Prince Regent, granting him authority over temples. Huy, while passive aggressively pointing out the ways that he had pranked him, congratulates him nonetheless. Rameses gives a dignified and professional oration, cumulating him in appointing Moses as Chief Architect. The room cheers. Moses quietly remarks that he does not know much about architecture, but Rameses tells him not to worry – he will learn on the job. Huy then announces one last surprise – he has brought an exotic gift to the royal Egyptian court. Unveiling a curtained display, he reveals a woman tied to the back of a camel, clearly against her will.

 

Rameses and Moses are attracted to her beauty, but she is angry and desperate to escape, trying to attack the brothers in the process. A guard holds her back, but she eventually slips into a pond at the center of the room. As she pulls herself from the water, she sees everyone laughing at her, especially Rameses and Moses. She begins to quietly tear up, as she runs away from the room. Rameses shrugs, saying that he could easily find someone even more beautiful, but Moses feels somewhat guilty. Regardless, Moses simply tells Rameses that he needs to get a breath of fresh air.

 

Moses leaves for the opening of the palace, trying to find out where the woman went. Eventually, we see her trying to escape into the city with her camel, but she notices Moses. Moreover, a few guards are coming. Moses calls the guards and, in a moment of uncertainty, tells them that they are working too hard and persuades them to join the festivities, buying enough time for the woman to escape. Moses, alone at the palace, faintly hears a beautiful melody being sung in the town. He begins to move toward it, vaguely remembering it for a reason he cannot fully understand. As he moves closer, the melody more and more resembles the lullaby he had heard of a child, but Moses does not recognize this.

 

He then sees two Hebrew peasants washing clothes in the street, one male and one female. The male notices Moses and begins to panic, nudging his sister. They begin to bow nervously, as Moses tells the two that it is okay – he just wanted to know what they had been singing, as it had been very familiar. “...Moses?” The woman asks. Slowly coming to the realization, she speaks to the Prince of Egypt:

 

Miriam: Moses...*she lights up* it’s us! Miriam and Aaron! Do you remember us?

Aaron: Miriam, let the man be. He hasn’t seen us since he was a bab...never mind.

Moses: I’m sorry...what are you talking about?

Miriam: I knew you would come back! You will deliver us to freedom and safety!

Moses: With all due respect, I have no idea what you say.

Miriam: Moses, please, you have to remember. We have been toiling and suffering every day for countless years, but you can end this!

Aaron: Your majesty, please forgive us. We have been overworked and sleep deprived. Right, Miriam?

Miriam: No, Aaron. It’s him. I truly believe it! Moses, please, you are no prince of Egypt.

Moses: *pausing* You’re wrong. You’re lying. I should have you tried for blasphemy.

 

Miriam tries to convince him, but to no avail, and Aaron trying to silence Miriam certainly doesn’t help. Moses then storms off, telling them to forget about this encounter entirely. Moreover, they should be lucky they weren’t sentenced to additional labor. He turns around and notices Miriam looking at him the same way his mother did as she released him into the river as a baby. Memories begin to pour back into his head, as he begins to run towards the Palace. It turns out that Rameses had been looking for him, as did several people at the event. Tuya asks if he is okay, but Moses feels more and more uncertain about who he is. Tuya tries to assure him that he is her son, but Moses, demanding answers, looks around the palace. Seti tries to find him, telling him to come back.

 

 

 

SONG: All I Ever Wanted (skip the Queen’s Reprise)

 

As Moses reaches a room full of hieroglyphs, he finds out the truth of what happened, intertwined with hieroglyphic animation and flashbacks to the day of his escape. The soldiers had not just killed any potential insurgents, but they had seized infant Hebrew males and threw them into the Nile river – if they survived the crocodile attacks, they would most certainly drown anyway. Moses, looking to his father, finally confronts why he committed these atrocities. Seti tries to explain things in a calm manner, saying that the Hebrews would have attacked innocent Egyptians if they didn’t strike first. He then asks Moses about if he has seen the pain of the slaves all his life, then why is he just now speaking about it? Moses retaliates by expressing his fear of punishment for not supporting his actions, and furthermore accidentally tells him that they are his people. Seti is stunned but tells Moses that he needs to get some rest. As Moses refuses to be moved, Seti begins to feel ill, eventually fainting to the ground.

 

A few days later, we see Seti on his death bed, having fallen ill due to his age. Ready to pass the throne to Rameses, Moses says nothing, but feels for the man he had known to be his father all his life – up to now. Tuya tries to speak to Moses, not knowing what he had said to Seti, but he begins to move away and wanders. Rameses is called into inspect the work of the builders, telling Seti that he will be back in a few moments.

 

As Moses wanders the town, the pain and devastation of the Hebrew people could not be clearer. He even sees one Egyptian slaver badly punishing a slave. Miriam and Aaron, who are also working, try to intervene, but are hurt by the guard. Moses, tired of having been complicit and silent in these atrocities, tells the guard to stop. Rameses is confused, telling him that they are just slaves, and that he has been acting quite strange lately. Moses goes up to confront the guard, but Rameses tries to stop him. Moses accidentally pushes Moses into a wall, as his arm gets damaged by a brick that fell. Everyone looks on in horror, believing Moses to have attacked his brother on purpose.

 

Feeling guilt and shame, he tries to run away. Rameses tries to catch him, holding his broken arm close to his chest. He recognizes that Moses had done this in an accident, and he begs him not to do anything hasty. Moses, now with the inability to explain himself and feeling nothing but terror and confusion, knows that he must keep moving forward. Rameses calls and begs for him to return, but Moses keeps running away, eventually being truly clear of the Egyptian kingdom.

 

As Rameses returns to the palace, he sees that Seti is on his final breaths, and Tuya asks him where Moses is. Not having the heart to tell the truth, and hiding his broken arm, Rameses lies and tells her that he will return in a few moments. Eventually, Seti passes away peacefully, as Tuya begins to sing an original song, longing for the safety and care of her two sons, and how no matter how the gods decide their fate, she wishes for nothing but the best for each one.

 

SONG: Bring Them Light / All I Ever Wanted (Reprise)

 

During the song, we see Miriam and Aaron, who are forced to resume their labor. Miriam confesses to Aaron her confidence that he will someday return. We also see Huy performing a deeply spiritual rite to bring peace to Seti. The song reaches a dramatic, epic conclusion as it shows Moses traveling the desert, abandoning his royal attire (including his black hair piece) as he wanders the desert, searching for someone – or something – that can provide answers for him. We hear a voice call him: “Moses, keep moving, you will find all that you seek before you realize it.” Moses does move forward but gets caught in a massive sandstorm. He tries to hide behind a massive boulder, but it works to no avail. The camera fades to black as Moses tries to save himself from being buried in sand.

 

We later cut to an empty desert sky, as it turns out Moses only had his lower body buried in sand. He gets up, happy to find himself alive, and even happier to find a nearby oasis with a well. He dives his face into the water, feeling refreshment like he never had in so long. Several sheep surround the oasis, finicking when Moses approaches them. Moses overhears two bandits harassing a group of young children in vibrant, colorful clothes. Moses, seeing two camels tied to a tree, sets the camels free and sends the bandits running for them. The children thank Moses for his kindness, and as he approaches them in a cool and collected manner, he notices a woman come towards the kids, making sure everything his okay. It was the woman offered the Moses. Recognizing who he is, Moses nervously backs away, falling into the well. The woman tells the kids to leave him there, as one reacts: “So that’s why father says that she’ll never be married.”

 

After a humorously long pause, the woman decides that he suffered enough, lifting him from the well. She introduces herself as Tzipporah. They eventually arrive at a place called Midian, marked by a village of kind, friendly villagers. Many are excited about the new visitor, as Moses is surprised by the amount of kindness and joy in the town, unlike little he had seen before. Tzipporah then informs him that her father, Midian’s priest, would love to meet him. They go inside a large tent and meet Jethro, the father of Tzipporah. He welcomes him to his village and thanks him once again for saving his daughters. Moses trips on words, not realizing the children by the oasis were her daughters, much less Tzipporah, but he smiles either way. As Jethro asks about where Moses came from, he gives vague, non-descript answers, implying that he isn’t proud of his past. Jethro invites him to the village prayer that evening, but also to enjoy a wonderful feast beforehand.

 

SONG: Look Through Heaven’s Eyes

 

At the prayer, shot by a fire under a beautiful night sky, Jethro thanks the gods for their new visitor, but Moses still feels guilty. Jethro begins to explain that his actions show the kindness and good in his heart, and that he can see who he truly is by “looking at his life through heaven’s eyes.” Tzipporah receives a bit more dialogue in the breaks of the song as she teaches Moses about how to be a Shepard and support the community, all while thanking him for helping her escape Egypt. At a new prayer session, Tzipporah and Moses dance together, beautifully filmed amidst the fire and the bright designs of the village attire. As more time passes in the village, the song cumulates in Moses and Tzipporah getting married.

 

Several days later, Moses is tending to his flock of sheep, but one of the sheep begins to wander towards a mountain. Moses retrieves him and turns him around, but not before hearing a mysterious voice calling for him. Moses begins to walk towards him, the camera tracking him from the front and eventually turning 180 degrees to reveal the burning bush. Moses, looking in awe, puts his staff into the flame, watching the light dance around it. Eventually, Moses puts his hand in, as the voice calls him out again. The voice calls for him to take off his sandals, for it is holy ground. Moses, a bit awkwardly, does so.

 

MUSIC: The Burning Bush *note: 95% of the dialogue is lifted from the original movie*

 

The voice says that “I am what I am,” that it is the god of his ancestors. He hears the echoes of Miriam and Aaron in Egypt, their bodies faintly formed by the flame. The voice tells him that he sees the oppression of his people in Egypt, with another vision of the past *Moses hears the cracks of a whip and screams*, but it envisions a land of milk and honey that will set them free. The voice relays to Moses that he will be the one to lead their people. Moses is very hesitant, not knowing what to say nor what to do, even if people somehow do listen to and believe him. The voice simply lights up, the flame forming the shape of Moses (shown from the back) saying: “Let my people go.” Moses simply refuses, knowing that he was the one who had caused much of their oppression, and that there is simply nothing he could do to set them free.

 

The fire glows brighter than ever, as a vibrant, transcendent light fills the room, complete with several, mind blowing visuals. “WHO MADE MAN'S MOUTH? WHO MADE THE DEAF, THE MUTE, THE SEEING OR THE BLIND? DID NOT I? NOW GO!” The voice beckons, showing (through the flames) the miracles of all that he has created on Earth and in the heavens. A bright white light is emitted, as Moses falls to the ground. The flame begins to surround Moses again, as the voice sends one last message: “Oh, Moses, I shall be with you when you go to the king of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not listen. So, I will stretch forth my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders! Take the staff in your hand, Moses. With it, *you* shall do *my* wonders.” Moses agrees to be their savior, opening his eyes and only seeing a regular bush.

 

We then hear Tzipporah calling to Moses, still stunned and shaken in the cave. Tzipporah finds him, admitting her worry. Moses then tells her what they must do, but Tzipporah is absolutely shocked. She thought that Moses was going to stay in Midian and begin life anew, but Moses tells her that he must do this to set his people free and give faith to his god. As Moses tries to persuade Tzipporah of her mission, she eventually agrees to come with. Explaining their mission to Jethro, he gives the two a big hug, praying for their success, and knowing that they can always have a home within Midian. They smile, as they take a camel and take off for Egypt once again, Tzipporah guiding.

 

SONG: Look Through Heaven’s Eyes (Reprise)

 

Tzipporah sings a new reprise of Look Through Heaven’s Eyes, offering support in any way she can to help the Hebrews, all while exploring the idea of what difference one person can make. The song takes a more somber turn as they reach Egypt more and more, meeting several Hebrew slaves oppressed and overworked by the Egyptians. Debarking the camel, Moses goes up to a guard, demanding an audience with Rameses. The Egyptian asks that he refer to him as Pharaoh. “Pharaoh?” Moses asks in an impressed manner.

 

We then see a large courtroom, as Huy is performing a spiritual ceremony for Rameses, but Moses and Tzipporah soon arrive. There is much murmur and discussion, much of it hostile, but Rameses calms the mood and excitedly welcomes his baby brother home, giving him a disorienting hug. Believing that he has come back to stay for good, even bring his “desert flower” home, Moses admits that he had come to ask for something. Moses demands that Rameses lets his people go. Murmurs break out again, as Rameses thinks that this must be a joke. Moses doesn’t flinch, holding the staff tightly. He calls out Rameses on the oppression of the Hebrews, and he simply wants to set them free. Rameses begins laughing much more lightly, until he realizes that Moses is being joking. His smile disappears. “And what if I don’t let your people go?”

 

Moses grabs his staff, getting ready to show him the powers of his god. Smoke fills the room, as the staff turns into a cobra before our very eyes. Shock fills the room, even temporarily on Rameses’ eyes. The shock soon turns to a sinister smile, as he asks Huy to provide a rebuttal to his baby brother. Huy admits that it would be his pleasure, and that he would happily put to rest the lunacy behind Moses’ party tricks.

 

 

 

The song sequence is much more visually intense and trippy than in the animated movie, as Huy uses trickery and deception to scare Moses into thinking his powers are inconsequential. He tries using his staff in various manners, desperately looking up, but nothing happens. Several people dressed as Egyptian gods appear and fill the room with Moses (and no one else except Huy) as they torment and tease him, while Huy then performs tricks of fire and magic to distract and confuse Moses. In one shot, we see Rameses glare at him with a sinister look. Tzipporah tries to help, but she is pushed away by two priests. The trickery ends when two snakes created by Huy are devoured by the cobra Moses created.

 

We then cut back to normal, as the Egyptians are blown away by Huy’s magic, and Moses reorients himself. Rameses believes that this is all that needed to be said, calling the royal session to end. Moses runs up the stairs to meet him, begging him to set things right as a request from brother to brother. Rameses tells Moses that he cannot be of the people his father despised and his brother. “Help me out here, Moses. Pick a side.” Rameses discusses how the Egypt he creates will be greater than that of any Pharaoh before, and how perhaps then his father will see both of his sons in an equal light. Rameses insists that his nation cannot prosper without the Hebrews and echoes his father’s words of them just being slaves.

 

Moses tries to tell him that he has more to live for than his father’s approval, and that he can make Egypt thrive without oppressing the Hebrews, but his requests fall on deaf ears. Rameses asks Moses to please remember the simpler days of his childhood, to which Moses tells Rameses the story of how he was a Hebrew baby saved by a mother who was probably killed that very day. As Moses’ voice rise, a silence fills their air. Moses gives Rameses a ring of Egyptian royalty, giving him a look of yearning for redemption and forgiveness. Rameses years to be with Moses again, taking the ring. As he holds on to it and sits on his throne. He closes his eyes for a moment, clutching the ring. He then glares at Moses, throwing the ring to the side.

 

Rameses refuses to be swayed by the belief that what he had done was wrong, and that gods other than his own exist. As Moses begs him to listen, Rameses reassures him that he did persuade him to do one thing: double the workload of the slaves, effective immediately. “And it will be all thanks to your god...or should I say, thanks to you?” Moses is escorted out of the royal hall, looking with absolutely dismay and lack of hope. Tzipporah tries to comfort Moses, but he feels utterly hopeless. Later that day, he tries to confer with the Hebrews, who are furious with him for what he had done. Aaron hurls a ball on mud at him, much to Miriam’s anger. Moses begs for forgiveness, but acknowledges that this was all a mistake. Miriam tries to calm him down, but Moses sadly walks away. Miriam, glaring at Aaron, goes after him.

 

SONG: River Lullaby (Reprise)

 

As Moses walks around Egypt, both the Hebrews and Egyptians scorning him, he sees places that he and Rameses had played before, yearning for a simpler time. We then see Miriam sing a new reprise, quietly expressing sorrow and pain for Moses as he feels torn between worlds, while Aaron wishes that he had been able to grow up alongside him, trying to hide the pain of losing his brother. Miriam sees Tzipporah comfort him. Tzipporah notices Miriam, who looks to her and gives a light smile.

 

We see Moses sit at a river near the palace, as Miriam tries to speak with him, apologizing for Aaron’s brash behavior. Moses feels frustrated, but soon sees a child by the palace, and he calls for his father. Rameses arrives by the river to gloat about the weakness of his god. Acting as if it were a playful, brotherly competition, Rameses continues to belittle him, all while Moses tries to remain calm. Eventually, he snaps. Rameses orders guards to go towards Moses and attack him, as they enter the water (which is waist deep) Moses, feeling the wind guide his hand, places his staff into the water. A swirl of red begins to form, which fills more and more of the water. Tzipporah and Miriam look on in shock as the water turns into blood.

 

The guards begin to retreat as Moses looks to his staff in utter bewilderment, but soon confidence. “Brother, you have seen my wonders, and what I am capable of. I demand you let my people go!” Moses demands with confidence. Rameses summons Huy, who grabs a bowl of water and inserts a red dye, casting the same effect. Huy deviously smiles at Moses as Rameses remains unmoved by Moses’ phony magic. Moses is angry but tries to keep his composure. He vows that Rameses will be eventually moved to let his people go, but as he moves away, Aaron finds the river and joins them. “Moses...I think I might not have been so wrong before in my life. You...you can set us free.” Moses tells his brother that he truly hopes he can, but Moses orders Tzipporah, Aaron, and Miriam to warn the Hebrews to stay in their homes safely tonight.

 

Moses paces outside the town alone, feeling quietly nervous. He looks to an otherwise clear sky as a light is cast down on him. He swallows, shedding a tear and saying softly: “Please forgive me, brother.” He strikes the staff onto a ground, letting out a massive crack as we return to the palace. Huy is looking at the blood water nervously, noticing a clear difference in texture compared to the mixture he had devised. He becomes more terrified as the blood disappears, and he sees a huge number of frogs begin to slowly creep out of the water...

 

 

SONG: The Plagues

 

Through a dramatic sequence, we see the plagues descent upon Egypt: frogs, lice, insects, and locusts flood the streets and rivers of Egypt and spread disease and terror across the Egyptian populace, all while livestock begin to mysteriously die and several outbreaks of bodily boils occur. Darkness fills the air amidst the nightmarish storms of fire. As Moses sees the devastation plague the city, he feels a quiet pang of remorse and guilt, remembering his childhood home and the love of whom he thought was his brother, as he sees Egyptians terrified of the plagues. Even Huy is desperate and concerned, desperately praying for an answer to his Egyptian gods as boils begin to appear on his arms. Rameses furiously reprimands him as he maintains his refusal to let the Hebrews go. Rameses’ son appears, hugging his father as he glares towards Moses, staring at a nearby mountain. As the song ends, the below scene is recreated shot for shot:

 

 

As we see Miriam and Aaron in hiding, along with the others, we can tell they are just as shocked as the Egyptians. Miriam is hopeful, if sad and dismayed, that Rameses will finally set them free, but Moses tells her that he needs to speak with his brot- (He corrects himself and says the Pharaoh) to finally make things right. Moses walks through the city, it being in a state of desolation and despair. A few Egyptians even hide in their homes as Moses walks by, as he feels sorrow for the fear he has created. As he reaches the palace, we see Huy run out. Moses and Huy briefly make eye contact, but Huy, feeling nervous, runs away.

 

Eventually, Moses reaches Rameses, overlooking the city while standing by a large statue. Rameses refuses to speak with him, but Moses tries to use this as a time to reconcile and finally make things right. The scene is insidiously silent, as Moses has flashbacks to seeing places where he and his brother would play and pull pranks. The camera shoots Rameses, Moses faintly behind him. Rameses lets out a light chuckle, but his face hardens. Moses eventually tries to soften Rameses, and he too begins to remember the times of their childhood. Rameses, smiling, tells Moses to abandon his mission, and that he will make things right, the way they were before.

 

SONG: Before We Know It (Reprise)

 

Rameses gives a softly cloying, if secretly dark, reprise of the song they had sung in childhood. As the song ends, leaving Moses speechless, Rameses’ son appears. He thinks Moses is the person who had caused all this pain, and his father verifies his remark. Demanding to know why he is doing this, and why he cares about the Hebrews so much, Moses tells him that no kingdom should be made on slavery and suffering. Yet, he didn’t wish for any of this to happen, and he can promise that the plagues will end if they just let their people go, and better yet, if Rameses puts his ego aside for one moment to see the pain in his people.

 

Rameses, much like his father, soon sees the divinity in himself, refusing to be swayed by anyone. He completely refuses, knowing that his father would never do such a foolish thing. Moses warns him that something far worse is coming, implying that his son could be in grave danger. Rameses’ son hides behind him, looking at Moses in terror. Rameses glares at Moses, realizing that his father had in fact been far too soft on the Hebrews, eventually mimicking the pose of the hieroglyphic mural (depicting the day of the Hebrew infanticide) as his soon looks in terror. He cowers on the ground by the crocodiles in the mural. Moses makes a final plea, but Rameses won’t listen. Moses, feeling defeated, walks away, knowing that he cannot stop what is to come.

 

We then see a montage of the city at night, as the Hebrews put red blood on the doors of their homes, having been warned by Moses to do so. Moses tells Aaron, Miriam, and Tzipporah that the final plague arrives tonight, and it will pass anyone with the sacrificial blood of a lamb on their door. He asks the three to make sure the Hebrews’ doors have been checked, and his siblings leave. Tzipporah asks Moses if he is certain of what he wants to do here, but Moses feels scared and doubtful. They embrace, promising each other that they will be safe.

 

Silence. As people begin to go to bed, a stream of blue lights travel across the desert, moving towards Egypt. The voice of God begins to narrate that he will smite the firstborn of Egypt but will pass over any door marked with the blood of the lamb. We see the lights do just that: They do not go inside homes marked with the blood, but they quietly move into the homes of the Egyptians, a light surrounding the firstborns. Their movement seizes. As a few Egyptian children are still awake, we see a hand drop to the floor from the doorway. Moses, feeling restless, but noticing that Tzipporah, Aaron, and Miriam are asleep, runs to grab a bowl of leftover blood and desperately runs outside. The light passes him as he desperately runs toward the palace, carrying the blood. As he reaches it, he finds that the light has already left it. Moses slowly drops the bowl and backs away, feeling dejected as he moves back home. As he arrives, the light leaves Egypt and the sun rises, and wailing and crying is heard in the distance.

 

A day of mourning befells Egypt, and in a darkly lit room, we see Rameses carrying his sons’ body to a pedestal. Moses comes in, as Rameses glares at him, holding back furious and heartbroken tears. Moses apologizes profusely, not mentioning anything about his people. As he tries to connect with his former brother, Rameses is cold and silently furious. “You can forget about me ever letting your people go.”

 

SONG: The Plagues (Reprise)

 

Rameses gets a reprise with no instrumentals, as he angrily and heartbrokenly asks Moses what he has become. Moses doesn’t have the courage to speak to a mourning Rameses, instead silently leaving. Moses returns to the Hebrew village, as Moses tells them that they still cannot leave. As the Hebrews feel hopeless, Aaron apologizes for his behavior, and he thanks him for truly helping them to feel hope again, however fleeting.

 

The Hebrews quietly dine together as Egypt mourns across the empire. At their dinner, a mysterious guest arrives: Huy. More humbled and empathetic than ever before, he expresses his awe and shock with the powers of Moses’ god, asking if letting them go will truly end the suffering of both peoples. Moses nods. Huy humorously remarks that this will give him good faith in the eyes of Horus, not to mention revenge on Rameses’ pranks. He offers a mandate to suggest his people leave Egypt at night, in spite of the Pharoah’s word. Huy suggests leaving at nightfall to get a head start on the guards. Moses, somewhat bewildered, thanks Huy for his actions, and remarks that he will be praying for him. Huy leaves, smiling at Moses.

 

 

SONG: When You Believe

 

Sunset comes, and the Hebrews realize that it’s now or never. Miriam and Tzipporah rally the Hebrews as they begin to leave, telling them that they can accomplish incredible feats when they believe, be it in the faith of a higher power or the love in each other’s hearts. We see children sing the next part as they dance and run around the crowd, playing with animals and each other as they eventually work their way to see Moses. Under a full moon, (3:38) they keep moving forward and reach Moses, who playfully lets them hang on to his staff. As we see the Hebrews carry torches, they each have their own sense of hope, wonder, and joy guiding them through the night. (4:06) sunrise soon arrives, and everyone feels true hope for finally reaching their freedom. They move towards the Red Sea, as Moses, Tzipporah, Miriam, and Aaron hug for their pursuit of freedom.

 

As they reach the Red Sea, Moses hears a voice telling him what to do. He moves towards the sea, slams his staff to the ground, and in an incredible visual effects sequence, the red sea parts before our very eyes. As Aaron looks in shock, Moses nudges him: “Well, you coming or not, big brother?” Moses leads the Hebrews down to the sea floor as they see sea life on the sides of the wall. A few children glide their hands along the wall’s surface, making a small splash. Eventually, Moses hears the ground begin to shake, and from the distance, we see Egyptian chariots, led by Rameses, coming for them.

 

Moses tells the Hebrews that they need to run, as Aaron and Miriam guide everyone to safety. Moses helps a few people who have fallen behind, as he begins to move backwards. He tells everyone, particularly Tzipporah, that there is one last thing he must do. He kisses Tzipporah, then as she runs to join the others, he forms a wall behind her to keep the Hebrews from the Egyptians. As the hordes approach Moses, he stands steadfast. Eventually, as Rameses and his men approach them, Rameses tells everyone to halt. He gets off his chariot, carrying a dagger, as he approaches Moses on foot. Moses places his staff to the ground, placing a barrier between Rameses and his men. The water pulses through the ocean and drowns Rameses’ army in one fell swoop. At this point, the water surrounds Rameses and Moses on the ocean floor.

 

Rameses, furious with the man he thought was his brother for bringing down his legacy, tries to kill him with a dagger. As he approaches Moses, a wave splits through the wall and sends the dagger into the ocean. Moses explains to his brother that in their time within this barrier, his people will be on the other side of the red sea – there remains nothing that Rameses can do. Rameses begrudgingly tells his “Brother” that he has won, demanding that they let him through. Moses, beyond explaining that the Egyptians will never touch the Hebrew people again, asks Moses what he had been trying to prove though this slavery and suffering.

 

SONG: There is Good

 

Rameses laments that for how much he tried to encapsule his father’s legacy, Moses was always his favorite. Moses asks if this is what all of this had been about: Trying to prove his own power and trying to carry his father’s legacy. Rameses tells him that Moses had no idea what it could have been like, and he shouldn’t try to find out. Moses begins to sing a song to Rameses, using his staff to form shapes with water, wishing that Rameses wanted to be more than the clone of a power-hungry tyrant and to see the pain of others. Moses still sees the good in Rameses somewhere deep down, especially in their friendship as children, and wants to give him a second chance of life to become a truly good ruler. The song is very triumphant and hopeful, but ends tragically, as Moses knows that he will never see Rameses again. The song ends with the waters pulling Rameses and Moses back to their respective sides.

 

As we see the Hebrews gather on the other side of the Red Sea, they cheer as the waters guide Moses back to safety. The Hebrews are finally safe. They cheer for their freedom and for Moses, who goes to his siblings and wife, sharing an embrace. Moses faintly hears his “brother” crying for Moses across the sea, but he soon turns around and moves forward with his people. Across the sea, Rameses lays weakly on a beach, noticing a cut along his arm. Seeing weapons begin to sink to the top, he begins to slowly limp back to his kingdom, soon collapsing in the sand.

 

As Moses and the Hebrews move further along their path past the sea, they reach a large valley. Moses and Tzipporah kiss.

 

SONG: Reprise Finale

 

(2:39) Eventually, the Hebrews look up to the mountain, as Aaron and Miriam express shock and amazement at their sibling. Tzipporah says to herself how glad she is that she waited to find a good man, and at (3:10), a figure, shrouded in a golden light, walks down the mountain. We begin to see that it is Moses, carrying two stone tablets, as the camera turns around to see him towering over the people he had set free.

 

---

 

The film ends with flames in the style of the burning bush recreating art and characters from the movie, set to a cover of "When You Believe" by Janelle Monae and Alicia Keys.

 

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

Notes From The

OTHERSPACE

 

Directors: Kelly Fremon Craig (live action), Rebecca Sugar (Animation)

Composers: Jon Brion and Richard Vreeland

Director of Photography: Robert Yeoman

Live Action Cast: Anna Kendrick (Megan "Meg" Hollis / Gem), Joan Cusack (Anne Hollis), Hannibal Buress (Tyler), Andy Garcia (Frank), Channing Tatum (Jake)

Voice Cast: Neil Patrick Harris (A-Man / Awesomeicus), Kristin Chenoweth (Marigold Jones) Chris Hemsworth (Leonardo), David Tennant (Dr. Narwhal), Tiffany Haddish (Sefavra)

 

Genre: Fantasy/Dramedy/Animation Hybrid

Release Date: August 2nd, Y3

Theater Count: 17 (8/2), 3,058 (8/9)

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual content, and thematic material

Runtime: 113min (1hr, 53min)

Production Budget: $37.5 million

 

PREMISE: After a freak accident that somehow left her unharmed, a woman struggling with real world issues gets transported to a world created by her own imagination every night. As the characters she’s created wish to lift her spirits, she struggles to support her life in two worlds.

 

NOTE: The live action segments are done in regular font, the animated segments are blue.

 

Spoiler

HOURGLASS PICTURES PRESENTS

 

We see a notebook filled with drawings of various characters and places, all with a somewhat fantastical look. A pencil then goes down on the page and begins to draw a rainbow that shoots out of the eye of...a badger wearing sunglasses and a hoodie sitting on a cloud. Underneath the badger is a name, Awesomeicus, King of the Otherspace. We then see a young girl drawing in the notebook. Her parents are sitting beside her, not really paying attention to her drawings, at an indoor hallway. “Mr. and Mrs. Hollis?” A voice soon calls out.

 

It is a parent-teacher conference. The teach points out that the young girl, Meg, is doing very well in class and is incredibly polite. However, she is concerned that Meg is easily distracted and not very talkative. The full time, Meg is still drawing in her notebook, but feels somewhat distressed as she hears the parents speak. Her mother, Anne, tries to say that she has been much more open and comfortable at home, but the teacher remarks that she spends a great deal of time drawing in that notebook. Meg begins to hide it away, but the teacher tells her not to worry. “We’re not mad at you, Meg – you’re one of my best students. I just want to help you enjoy being with your classmates.” The teacher tries to say.

 

As they get home, the father, Nathan, asks Meg to give him his notebook. Meg refuses, but Nathan tells her that she needs to focus in school and not grow up to be some socially awkward loser. Nathan grabs the notebook as Meg resists, taking it upstairs to hide it. Anne is furious with Nathan for what he said and did to Meg. As Meg sits in her room, vaguely overhearing her parents fighting, she begins to look inside her desk and smiles as she pulls out one of many blank notebooks. She begins drawing again.

 

NOTES FROM THE OTHERSPACE

 

We then begin at a small apartment in a suburban duplex, as a grown-up Meg gets up and ready for the day. Her place is modest. As she leaves, she checks her phone for any new updates or emails from work. As she travels through the city on railway, we find out that she lives near Seattle and works as a marketing assistant at a publishing company. She is somewhat nervous in having to deal with a constant flurry of phone calls from different authors and publishers, but she is somewhat able to keep her head on, telling herself that the pay is good, she gets to work with books, and the people are –

 

“Crap, I am so sorry,” her boss and one of her (only) friends at the company, Frank, says as he bumps into her desk. Meg tells him not to sweat it – she’s so caught up in getting a new major author on board that any distraction should be welcome. She admits that she’s nervous, however. She’s aware that revenue is low, and this author, who’s been said to be difficult to work with, needs to secure the deal to ensure the company’s safe future. Frank tells her that if she needs any help with anything – he’s always available. Through the day, Meg hears conversations at work, trying to chime in at one point. She stumbles about not trying to sound like she was eavesdropping, but soon awkwardly puts her headphones back on and returns to her computer.

 

As she gets home, she notices someone new moving to the other apartment in his duplex. The door to his place is open, as several boxes are still outside. Meg peeks through the door, seeing someone organizing stuff inside. The man notices Meg, who backs away. He comes towards the door and tells her that it’s all good – he doesn’t bite. Meg sighs in relief, asking if he needs help moving anything in. The man graciously accepts the officer, introducing himself as Tyler.

 

As Meg helps Tyler move his stuff in, she finds that much of it is nerdy stuff and board games. Meg is pretty silent through the process, but Tyler is a bit more talkative. He tells Meg that he moved recently from California to be closer to work, to which Meg says that she can relate. Tyler’s a bit of a jokester, as well as a connoisseur of terrible puns, and Meg smiles at a few of his jokes. As the last box is unpacked, Meg remarks that she feels somewhat tired, but tells him to knock on her door if he needs anything. As Meg returns to her room, she lets out a sigh, worrying that he thought she was crazy, and worrying if she sent any unintentional red flags.

 

We see her lying in bed, eating some frozen microwave samosas, as she tries to look through people on a dating site. She receives a few messages from undesirable men, but remarks to herself that being single is better than settling, as her mother said. The phone rings, and she gets a call from a man named Jake. As Meg lets it go to voicemail, he says that he’s so sorry for the way he treated her, and that he hopes that she’s loving Seattle. He was coming up to visit with some friends in the area soon and wanted to see if he could grab a drink with her. She instead grabs a notebook laughs at a drawing of Jake with devil horns and an evil mustache. As she laughs, the camera moves around her room, and we see much of the same books, movies, posters, and games that Tyler had.

 

The next day, we see someone at the office go up to Meg and asking a slew of complicated questions. Meg, not having the information she needs, tries to answer each one to the best of her ability, and she then goes back to her desk, having felt stressed from being put on the spot. She receives an email notifying that there was a leak in confidential information regarding the major author. He was furious at the denial of his request for confidentiality and threatens to shut down the deal. She turns her chair around in frustration, applying clever editing to the situation to immediately transition into a meeting.

 

Frank is furious that the leak went through, especially with the company undergoing enough hard times as it was, and he tries to ask several executives at the meeting how it happened. The company may lose a great deal of respect and partnerships if this news spreads further. Meg apologizes profusely, unintentionally acting like the leak was her fault. As she gets flustered and nervous, she gets completely tounge-tied. The meeting commences, though it drags painfully with negative thoughts racing in Meg’s head, blaming herself for messing everything up. They almost sound a bit distorted.

 

Meg tries to speak to Frank, trying to explain the situation. Frank tells her that he’ll have to handle it, but he knows that the leak wasn’t her fault. Still, the meeting made their department look guilty, and there will be a big mess to deal with on Monday, hopefully without news getting worse over the weekend. Meg tries to relax herself and say that he is right, and that she’ll try to catch any oversight in the future.

 

On the train home, Meg tries to calm herself down, but feels panic rushing towards her. Meg makes a phone call with Anne while realizing that she had forgotten dinner plans she made with her that day. Meg cusses to herself. She asks if they can push the dinner until tomorrow, as she isn’t really feeling up for it. Anne hears the nerves in Meg’s voice, asking if she is okay. Meg tells her not to worry – everything is under control. As Meg hangs up and gets to her apartment, she checks a weather app on her phone, where a newscaster points out major thunderstorms expected tonight. Looking to her fridge, she notices that she is out of food she can make for dinner. She decides to take her car out and head to the store.

 

As she is driving towards the grocery store, she notices that the thunder and lightning are only getting louder and closer. Pulling over, Meg decides to just shop tomorrow and stop for fast food. She turns the car around and sets her phone GPS to the nearest fast food place. Driving away on a dark road, the time showing as 9:04pm, we see a bright lightning bolt strike nearby, but no sound. Everything fades to black.

 

Faint images of a hospital emergency room are shown, as Meg lies on a hospital bed unconscious. A doctor says that she drove her car into a tree during the storm, but that she should be okay. By 5:39am, she is somewhat conscious again. Her doctor tells her that she should be stable and had only very minor injuries – her mother may be coming to visit her very soon. We soon see Anne walking through the hospital hallways feeling very nervous and scared. She arrives in the room, nearly in tears for seeing her daughter safe and sound.  

 

Anne asks what she was thinking driving in such dangerous conditions, while Meg says that she needed to get some food, as she was out of stuff for dinner at her apartment. She drove to get some fast food but crashed on the way. Anne apologizes to her, knowing she made the right decision, and she is so glad that she’s okay. However, Anne does mention that she wants to get her a gift card to the store. Meg smiles, as the doctor says that there’s a very good chance she can leave tomorrow. Meg wants to see her phone and find any updates on the leak, but Anne tells her that now isn’t the time to worry about work. She needs to calm down and focus on one thing at a time.

 

The next day, around midafternoon, an uninjured Meg returns home, as Tyler wonders how she spent the weekend. Meg says that she was just seeing her family, and if all goes well, she could be getting a new car soon. Tyler laughs, saying that it sounded like fun. Meg shrugs, then apologizing for her awkwardness the other day. Tyler tells her not to sweat it – From a normal person’s perspective, it’s always a surprise to see a new next-door neighbor, and it could be because of his, well, (he gestures to his skin color). Meg assures him that it’s not that at all. She just sometimes struggles to be with other people. Not that she doesn’t like them. She just doesn’t know what to say or do at times. Tyler admits that he sometimes feels the same way, telling her to join the club, jubilantly, but also remarks that sometimes, little needs to be said. And he isn’t just saying that because he has an early day of work tomorrow and is feeling tired as hell.

 

As Meg returns home, this time unloading groceries, she decides to finally have dinner. She throws her phone to the side, deciding to simply relax and watch TV tonight – she’s trying not to let anything faze her. As she watches, she begins to doodle faint descriptions of her characters in one of her notepads. The clock travels through the night, eventually hitting 9:04pm. As she lifts her head from her notebook, everything suddenly looks different, almost like a cel-shaded world. The transformation occurs all over her apartment, as she runs around in confusion and terror. As each room becomes more and more animated, she looks inside the mirror and sees that she has become a fully 2D animated character (identical to her real-world performance), and the walls sink to the ground and she finds herself in a vivid, colorful world surrounded by characters she had drawn throughout her life.

 

Meg screams, running through the place as she finds places she had drawn: a land made of sweets and cookies, a city full of theatre and music, an outer space setting, a fantastical dreamscape, and countless adorable creatures trying to get Meg’s attention. As she collapses on a giant cake at a theater cabaret, surrounded by several shocked faces, she remarks: “This...this can’t be real...this is the Otherspace?!” Looking around the world, she realizes that she’s in the world that she created. “Okay....this is really happening. Uh....hello everyone! I’m the person who...made you! I guess. And I probably know that there’s some guy named.....(think, Meg, who did you draw in your childhood).....A....Awesomeicus around here somewhere, he probably knows more about this, right?” Suddenly, a cabaret singer comes up to her, a bright, glowing beauty, introducing herself as Marigold Jones.

 

“Oh A-Man, I know him so well. I can take you to him. Don’t worry, we all like you here, Miss Creator, and he’s been looking for you already. Follow me!” As Marigold takes her through the city to a bizarre, colorful palace, we see Awesomeicus, a shade wearing Badger (in a hoodie) sitting on a cloud, just as she had drawn him. He is in a classic, medieval throne room surrounded by screens and video games. Marigold Jones soon arrives with Meg, as Awesomeicus turns around, greeting Meg with a hearty handshake. “We’ve been awaiting your arrival for quite some time. Glad you could join us! I am Awesomeicus, king of this world of worlds, but you can call me A-Man for short. You know, like Ayyy, man! You named me when you were nine after all.”

 

Meg, happy to meet her favorite childhood drawing, gladly greets him, but then immediately asks, “So what the hell is going on?!” A-Man says that it seems the two can help each other. He knows that Meg has been facing many struggles in life recently, and the Otherspace itself constantly has people who need help and inspiration. Being the creator of it, Meg is believed to have the power to bring some good into this world. Meg remarks that not only is this all probably a dream, that there’s no way she can do anything to help this world. She can barely do anything right in the real world. A-Man comes up to her, straight up saying that the leak wasn’t her fault. “You’ve always been blaming yourself for things other people did, but when did you forget that you’re this brilliant, sharp, heroine who can fix anything?”

 

Meg apologizes, saying that she’s hardly a heroine. A-Man thinks for a moment, deciding that she’ll have to convince her otherwise. He asks her to pull out what’s behind her back. It turns out that Meg has a powerful sword. As Meg swings it around excitedly, A-Man remarks that their world is in disarray, but she can be the one to make things right. A-Man realizes that Meg is busy hitting tackling dummies, but she apologizes for her distraction. A-Man promises that it’s time for her to remember how amazing she is. Meg smiles, unsure if this is all real, but saying that this was a good dream. She needed this greatly. She shakes hands with A-Man.

 

Suddenly, a flash of light occurs, and Meg wakes up in her bed. It’s 5:39am on Monday morning. She sighs as she decides to get ready for work. At work, Meg finds Frank and tries to tell him that she has idea for damage control of the leak and getting back to a peaceful relationship with the author to close the deal. Frank is listening, but Meg begins to stumble as she tries to recount notes she had taken at work. Meg decides to set up a meeting and bring a PowerPoint, it’ll probably be much easier. Frank moves away to deal with something else, and Meg worries that she should have just told him her basic idea.

 

 At lunch, Meg calls her mom, who obviously asks about how she is feeling after the accident. Meg remarks that, aside from a few headaches, she is a-OK, and she admits what happened at work – she will try to tell her more soon, but...she hopefully won’t be fired. Anne becomes extremely confused, not knowing much about the gravity of the leak. Meg must hang up, telling Anne to text her as she gets home.

 

Through the train ride, and through much of work that day, she can’t stop thinking about the dream she had the night before, distracting from thoughts of what was happening at work. As she gets home, she receives the message from her mom, asking for an update on how she is. Meg had forgotten to reply until late, apologizing but prepares to explain what was happening at work. It’s 9:01pm. Wondering for a moment, as she begins to explain the leak and what’s going on with the company, she worries that this was essentially going to be the proving test for her in the company, and in messing this up, she feels responsible. As she begins to stumble on words, the world suddenly changes on her.

 

Meg opens her eyes. She is shaking hands with A-Man once again. She begins to panic, realizing that this wasn’t just one big dream. A-Man tried to tell her, but 5:39 came sooner than expected. Even so, it seemed like today at work wasn’t much better, so this’ll be a welcome change of pace, hopefully. A-Man apologizes if that sounded insensitive.

 

Meg asks for a refresher, saying that it had been a day since they had seen her. A-Man obliges, knowing the timing is set up to be wonky. As Meg asks where “she” is exactly, A-Man simply states that the “real” Meg is entering a deep sleep immediately, and she will go to sleep each night at 9:04pm and wake up at 5:39am until...further notice. A-Man introduces her to several new friends she had drawn, including Doctor Narwhal, who lives in a portable tank and has telekinetic powers in his horn, using them to conduct experiments and make potions, as well as a charming satyr wearing a read jacket, Leonardo. Meg awkwardly remembers first drawing him as she entered puberty. Finally, the roof comes open, as a large dragon comes out. A-Man and the others look to Meg, as she tries to remember the dragon.

 

“Guess! It starts with S, ends in vra...which pretty much every dragon you drew did.” Meg remembers her as Sefavra, apologizing for not giving her a better name. She drew her in freshman year when she wanted to run off to a liberal arts college in Ohio and embraced her artsy side, but hey, University of Portland was pretty cool. The dragon admits that she’s just busting her chops. Suddenly, a marshmallow looking stewardess runs into the room, crying about a giant monster attacking the city. A-Man supposes it’s time to roll out. Meg is still very confused at everything that’s happening, but A-Man assures her that she’ll get the hang of it. The dragon swoops down and carries the four (specifically Dr. Narwhal’s tank in her arms, the other three on her back) as Meg panics upon seeing the monster. Everyone is running in panic, but the quintet lands on a building, forming an epic hero pose (Meg sheepishly makes a half assed pose) and they begin to sedate the monster.

 

The monster attacks by shooting a blue-ish goo substance at the city, freezing people in place. Meg looks to the others as she finds out what to do. Sefrava rockets around the monster to disoriented it, as Leonardo swiftly guides civilians to safety. Dr. Narwhal tries to cast a supersonic signal to distract the monster, while Meg is still unsure of what to do. A-Man tells her to focus and know that she can control this world as she needs to. Meg smiles, going up to the monster and grabbing her sword. It casts a beam of light into the sky, as she tries to speak to the monster. Meg uses her sword to protect herself as she speaks to the monster, imitating the basis of the idea she had for controlling the leak. She puts her sword in a pile of the goo, and she tells the monster to leave her world be. Suddenly, the monster apologizes, having apparently done this out of nerves. He snaps his fingers and collects all the goo. It fades into the sky and creates a blinding light.

 

She wakes up in her room again, Tuesday Morning at 5:39am. She grabs a notebook and begins to scribble something down on it. At work, Meg seems more distracted than ever, seemingly lost in thought about her second visit, but now has a burst of adrenaline and determination. She begins to load up a PowerPoint presentation on an idea for controlling leaks more efficiently she had come up with. As it turns out, she made several presentations of ideas she never had the courage to pull through. After Meg calls for a meeting with Frank, he is very impressed at what she had come up with. Frank tells her to keep working at this, as there is a lot of great stuff in here. Meg tries to be restrained but is secretly jubilant.

 

Her streak of confidence continues through the day, even telling Anne that she’s feeling a lot better. Anne asks about the incident again, but Meg calmly tells her that everything’s under control. Anne knows that she gets these fits of nerves and anxiety, and that she really does need to know that things will be okay. “Things usually aren’t as bad as they seem, Megan. No problem is truly life or death.” As she gets back, she knocks on Tyler’s door, wanting to ask if they can hang out later.

 

Tyler says that he does have some free time on Friday night. Meg says that her nights are busy, but she could make do something Saturday morning. Tyler says that he doesn’t do mornings at all, only to be joking. They make plans. Eventually, we see her wait and get inside her bed at a little bit before 9pm, as she is ready to watch what happens. “Okay, this is going to be the first night I don’t freak out at what’s about to happen.” She closes her eyes.

 

She is back at the same place as before. The city is cleared up, and people begin to cheer for Meg. Marigold Jones orders a festival to be held in their honor, which they can get ready in a few seconds. Meg is shocked at the quick turn around, but soon immediately sees everyone gather for a big celebration. “Things are finally going to be amazing for us once again,” A-Man says excitedly.

 

Meg is thrilled to be able to help defeat evil forces in the Otherspace but wonders where exactly they are coming from. A-Man tells her not to worry, but as the people of the Otherspace have prepared a song for her. A colorful musical sequence with the original song: “Welcome to the Otherspace,” offset with a montage of her coming up with amazing ideas at work. She drew a picture of her office as she nails each presentation, much to her co-workers delight. The co-workers reveal themselves to be Otherspace denizens in costumes, as they move to lift Meg into the air and celebrate. As the final note of the song hits, she wakes up at 5:39am.

 

Work goes by slowly, as now that she doesn’t have to worry about her work standing, thanks to a sudden burst of confidence and adrenaline the day before, she daydreams about the Otherspace, doodling during meetings. Meanwhile, we see that Frank seems to be concerned about something big, and he is still trying to speak with his higher ups. He is concerned about massive budget cuts in the company.

 

Meg gets home, drawing new gifts and treats for her friends to enjoy. The time comes to enter the Otherspace, and she has another fun, joyous day with her friends, fighting evil and saving the day. People in this world compliment her extensively, and Meg asks the others if they only brought her here because it seemed like she was fishing for compliments or needed some ego trip. Not that she wasn’t grateful, but she still just isn’t sure she’s as valuable in the real world as she is in the Otherspace. Dr. Narwhal insists that it’s an illogical conclusion but gives more generic and almost childish complements. It makes sense, as Meg drew him when she was 6. Meg smiles, still happy to be here, but wishes that she could just run away from the real world and live here. It almost seems like no one would really miss her. Meg realizes what she just said and begins to frown.

 

Thursday night, after a painfully long work day with Frank showing more concern than ever, she quickly gets home, and gives Tyler a hello at his door. He realized that they didn’t decide on a meeting activity on Saturday, to which Meg quickly replies that they’ll just do mini golf or something, checking her phone time anxiously. She sighs as there’s still three hours to go. Tyler asks, “three hours until what?” Meg suddenly freezes, remarking that her favorite show is on tonight at 9pm – looking at a poster in Tyler’s room, she names a show. Tyler remarks that it’s usually on Wednesday nights – it’s Thursday. Meg, realizing that she’s digging herself into a hole, asks to go inside Tyler’s apartment.

 

Meg reveals the truth about the lies she had been telling, but makes Tyler promise not to say anything. She had gotten into a car accident this past weekend and had been going to this fantasy world every night since then that apparently, she had created in her drawings. Realizing how stupid this all sounds, and how weird it feels to be telling someone, she runs to her apartment and gets her notebooks. Tyler tells her to slow down, asking if these are simply dreams. Meg can’t give a clear answer, but Tyler asks if drugs were involved. Meg denies it.

 

“I don’t know what’s going on here, exactly, but...you seem a lot more at ease. Were you okay from the accident?” Meg promises, not lying this time, that the doctor said she was fine. Tyler tells her that if there’s anything on her mind and she just needs someone to speak to, he can come over to his place. Meg, after a pause, admits that she would really appreciate that. Meg asks him to verify that he’s not weirded out by this. He remarks that he’s seen way weirder stuff. Meg asks what Tyler actually thinks about it, but he admits that it’s cool...but weird...but maybe cooler than weird. “Either way, you should probably head back soon though...it’s 8:55pm.”

 

Meg appears with the five at the royal palace. They are in the same place as before, but Meg makes the others forget what she said last time about herself. A-Man tells her that there’s surprisingly little to do tonight, but they should still rest up – more craziness could come very soon. For now, they decide to have a fun night exploring the space, riding on Sefavra’s back again. As they go on their travels, and Leonardo recounts stories of his dashing adventures, Meg recounts memories of when she drew a lot of the places and people they visited. The five she had been fighting alongside were maybe the drawings she was most proud of, especially recalling Dr. Narwhal as a prize winner at a kindergarten art fair. “See, Leo? I’m immature but well-made for my age,” Dr. Narwhal boasts. His diet of cookies and ice cream to stay healthy probably says a lot.

 

Suddenly, fire begins to rain from the sky. Sefavra tries to get everyone to safety, but the five crash onto a nearby beach. Dr. Narwhal lands in the water as Meg tries to understand what’s going on. Giant airships head toward the beach, filled with several goonish creatures and the evil General Gem guiding them. Meg quickly puts together that Gem is her name spelled backwards, feeling angry that this is just turning into some big lesson. She grabs her sword and jumps onto the ships, soon finding that General Gem does indeed look just like her, just in evil get-up. “Let me guess, you’re my evil counterpart and this was all a big ploy to make me love myself. Well let me kill you now and end this. Probably speed things up a bit, no?” Meg attacks Gem, but Gem destroys the sword upon one touch.

 

“On the contrary.” Gem says (with the same voice of Meg, but more distorted), as she begins to sing a dark reprise of “Welcome to the Otherspace”, mocking Meg for relying on a fantasy world to find any sort of value for herself. Moreover, it was one she had to create herself. “Heh, you really are something, Megan. This land is your paradise, I can see that, in only your brief time of five nights here. Imagine if you never have to leave, you can be well rested every night. You'll find out who you really are soon enough. Because like you said, no one would miss you from the real world if you straight up disappeared." Meg looks concerned, as Gem drops her onto the ground. A-Man goes to approach her, as she wakes up.

 

That morning, Meg feels another anxiety attack coming on, partly because of her dream. As she goes into work, she tries to be as efficient as possible, but she sees a few vacant desks by her, ones that weren’t there before. Meg is soon called into Frank’s office. Frank looks solemnly at her, as Meg begins to sweat. “Due to several budget issues and other constraining factors, the company has been forced to cut back their workforce dramatically, and with the leak that happened...I’m sorry Meg, the deal fell through. The author wouldn’t work worth us.” Meg interjects and apologizes, promising that she’ll be more on top of things and won’t let this happen. Frank tells her that it wasn’t her fault, but due to several constraints......they had to let her go.

 

The world seems to stop at those words, which replay in her head repeatedly. She begins breathing heavily, moving upwards but feeling disoriented. “Meg....I’m really sorry.” She grabs an empty box and throws everything at her desk inside, moving slowly and uneasily across the hall. She runs into a bathroom and locks the stall. Everything is silent again as she begins to sob by the side of the door. She soon bolts out of the office, thoughtlessly heading toward the train station with no other instinct but to get out of here.

 

She makes it back to her apartment, where she begins to pack a suitcase. She happens to receive a call from her mom, which she seemingly declines. Tyler knocks on her door, asking if she is doing okay given the way she walked in. Meg melts down before him, believing herself to be a terrible employee with a mind that wanders into La La Land every night. Through her meltdown, Tyler tries to help her take deep breathes and sit down, perhaps more seriously than before, telling her that while things may seem bad, she can go in on Monday and let things sort themselves out.

 

Meg admits that she was fired through her tears. Tyler begins to grow hardened, as she struggles to figure out what to say to comfort her. Meg begins to have a panic attack re-surge, as Tyler tries to help sit her down on his couch. Tyler admits that he’s been through a lot of what Meg is currently feeling like, admitting that a big part of the reasoning for his move was to be closer to his sister, who was one of his closest friends. Meg remarks that she doesn’t have anyone like that, and it isn’t that easy for her. She doesn’t even deserve a network of support.

 

Suddenly, a voice comes from Meg’s phone: Anne. We realize that Meg had accidentally turned on the speaker-phone, so Anne could hear everything. Meg picks up the phone, as Anne says, “Megan....are you okay?! I'm coming over. Please stay where you are." Tyler asks Meg if she wants to go to her apartment, but Meg says that she’ll run in and grab her suitcase.

 

We then cut to Meg inside a car with Anne. Anne desperately asks if she’s feeling okay but feels unsure as to what will help her daughter. Meg tells herself that she probably deserved to be fired, considering her weird demeanor at work, her inability to do anything right, and hell – dad probably left because of what a hopeless loser she was. Anne yells at her to stop saying these things about herself. A silence fills the car. Anne softly apologizes for yelling, as she offers to get Meg dinner at favorite restaurant. Anne, feeling somewhat flustered herself, says that things are going to be okay within a week or so. Meg says nothing but feels doubtful. (They live only a half hour apart, just on near opposite ends of the city.)

 

At the restaurant, Meg tells her, not wanting to get into the details, that she needs to be home by 9pm. She’s been having strange sleeping episodes and is falling asleep around the same times every day. Meg admits that it’s hard to explain why – she doesn’t even fully understand it, but...it’s been happening for nearly a week now. Anne tells Meg that she wants her to stay at her home until she can get out of the funk and maybe find a new job, if not a therapist. Anne can take care of paying the rent for Meg’s apartment. Meg is resistant, but Anne wants to know where she is to keep her safe. Meg eventually agrees to stay.

 

At home, they arrive around 8, as Meg goes to her childhood room – the bed somehow still is big enough for her. She gets a message from Tyler, asking if she is doing okay. Tyler can put off the date until a later date but wants to know if she’s feeling okay. Meg replies to the message, claiming that she’s better than she was, but still feels a bit off. She lays on her bed, anxiously pacing and waiting for a response. The phone dings. Meg runs to get it but finds out that it’s Jake. He is still waiting for a reply from her for going out tomorrow, as Meg realizes that she missed messaged from him all week. Meg, somewhat hastily, decides to turn him down in a text, but as she types, the clock shows the time: 9:04pm.

 

Meg wakes up next to A-Man and the others as the threat seems to have vanished. She’s somewhat confused, as Gem had been there just now. Leonardo remarks that she must be seeing things. Dr. Narwhal and Sefavra haven’t seen it either. Meg sighs: “Great, I’m insane in both worlds. Good to know.” A-Man tries to deflect the topic, knowing that she has enough stress in the real world, especially after today...A-Man quickly changes the topic. “You remember drawing that perfect city for your fourth-grade class project?”

 

They enter a fun, neon city, much like a cyberpunk Cloud Cuckooland, as it’s loaded with a video game arcade, movies, entertainment, and smiles everywhere. Suddenly, Meg remembers how much she loved Dance Dance Revolution as a kid and sees a large console with the game. The five egg her to do the game, as Meg is hesitant, but amused. Sefavra admits that she and the narwhal dude can’t do it given their...shapes and sizes. Meg then laughs, showing them how it’s done. At the game, she somehow doesn’t sweat or feel pain at all despite doing the hardest levels. Her feet fly like magic. Everyone begins cheering her on.

 

 

The next song comes on, and a challenger appears: Gem. People are frightened by her presence, but she only requests to have a conversation with Meg as they have a friendly competition. Gem steps onto the adjacent dance pad. As they dance, Gem casts an orb of energy that shuts everything else out except for the music. They talk as they dance.

 

 

 

Gem: So, this Jake guy, I heard he’s in town tomorrow.

Meg: I am NOT going with him anywhere.

Gem: Ah, why not?

Meg: We broke up for a reason. I was gonna dump him, but once he ran off to California he decides to dump me instead. Felt like I dodged a bullet for how he treated me, and I am not going back to him.

Gem: So, he cut you out, and he wants you back.

Meg: Yes.

Gem: Don’t you believe people can change? Jake may want to be with you again. He may still love and care about you. Your mom just wants to control you, and Tyler’s some creep you just met.

Meg: That isn’t remotely true. You should know that.

Gem: You loved Jake for two years in College. He stood with you when so many other guys would run for the hills. You had something special. Give him another chance.

 

As Meg tries to convince "herself" that this is a bad idea, the dance ends, and she wakes up at 5:39am, the phone still in her hand. In a hasty decision, feeling half-awake with thoughts reeling in her head, she messages Jake. “You. Me. Dinner. 5pm. Pick a place.”

 

Anne is making breakfast a few hour later, asking if she feels well rested. Meg asks if she can visit a friend from school tonight – he wanted to make her feel better. Anne needs convincing but lets her go, as Meg promises she will be back before 9pm. Meg gets ready for the night, as Anne reminds her to call her if anything goes wrong – she’ll be there to pick her up. She finds some old dresses that still fit her, putting on makeup to look good for Jake. She notices a few notebooks that she had kept in her drawer. Most of them are filled in with scribbles, but she simply says: “You better not screw up this night for me.” and puts them aside.

 

She walks to a curb around quarter to 5, dressed up for the night. Suddenly, she sees a car come around, and Jake hops out. Meg smiles, giving him a hug, doing so in a subtly desperate fashion. “It’s been so long!” Jake smiles, wondering how her life’s been since then. They drive to the restaurant, a Mexican place which does karaoke on Saturday night. Jake remarks that he’s having a great time in his career, so he offers to put the meal on his tab tonight. Jake persuades Meg to have a good drink, considering the stress of everything going on, so that they could use some good times once again.

 

Jake remarks that he was moving back to Seattle to be closer to his family, as he was just tired of living near San Diego. “I mean. No one wants to go through life in the same boring job with the same boring nights.” Meg affirms this but feels unease. Jake, showing artificial nervousness, asks Meg if they can potentially start over. Jake had been horrible to her simply because he was dealing with unhealthy pressure from his family and from his professional career, and what he did can’t be justified. He tries to persuade Meg (who is starting to become a bit drunk) to take him back. Meg accidentally slips that she got fired from work and she’s been fighting depressive episodes, to which Jake feels guilty and sad for her. She gives her a hug. Encouraging a fun time, she eggs her on to do karaoke and buys her more drinks.

 

 

 

Meg sings the above song, and the irony is lost on both people. A montage begins as they drunkenly make out inside the restaurant bathroom, and Meg realizes how much she missed him. Realizing it’s only 7:30pm, the night is still very much young. They walk back to Jake’s hotel room, which is quite nice. Jake entices her to take things all the way. Meg thanks him so much for showing kindness and love to her after everything she’s been through, and the commence their (PG-13) sex. Meg is still somewhat intoxicated, but soon begins to flash back again to the Otherspace, realizing what time it is.

 

This trip is a bit different. Things keep cutting back and forth between the bedroom in the real world and a confusing encounter in the Otherspace, partly because of how drunk Meg is: Meg walks through the city, where no one seems to be. It feels like a fever dream. She eventually encounters a movie theater where crowds are gathering. She goes inside. We see a cartoon of Gem and Jake in ‘Hearty Hijinx.’ It was the deviled drawing of Jake she had drawn earlier. The scene begins innocently enough, but it begins to trigger memories of the ways that Jake would emotionally abuse her. She yelled at her at the slightest provocation, was mad when she wanted to hang out with her friends and belittled her in front of his. Meg feels quietly traumatized, and as the projection worsens, and the drawings become less cartoonish (but still animated) (intertwined with Meg and Jake having small talk in bed) she runs up to the projector and destroys it.

 

She is back in the real world earlier than ever, waking up at 2:40am. Jake is sound asleep, arm around her. She wakes up to see several voicemails from her mother, each getting increasingly angry and terrified. Meg stumbles outside as she calls for a taxi back to her place. As she is in the hotel hallway, she faintly hears Jake's voice and begins bolting down the steps. She bolts for the curb with no other thought. She falls asleep in the taxi as she sees the projector destroyed. She moves away from it, eventually going out onto the street. She collapses, crying. Gem appears, shaming her for blowing the date. Jake is probably mad at her for bailing, and she even broke the promise she mad to her mother. Meg begins to think about her mom again, and begins to panic, making the scene cut out a bit more.

 

As she returns home, Anne is still awake. Anne hugs her, but only because she made it home safely. She had not texted her at all and was clearly still sloshed and groggy. Anne tells Meg that she was about to call the police - she doesn't want to be the control freak who doesn’t even trust her to leave the house any more, and Meg tells her that it would be totally perfect. She has no reason to leave this house anymore. At. All. Anne tells her not to make her the bad guy in this – she is trying to help her be better. Meg snaps at her mom for treating her like a child, and that she’s just doomed to be a worthless piece of shit her entire life with no friends, no meaningful accomplishments, and nothing of value. Meg runs to her room and collapses.

 

The next morning, a sobered Meg wakes up and apologizes to her mom, who apologizes in turn. It is relatively soft and not much is said by either. Anne saw a Facebook post and saw that she went out with Jake. She asks Meg (softly and sadly) what she was thinking. Meg says that he made her feel like she was valuable, if only for a few hours. "I....I just wanted to have a night where I could forget everything about who I was." She moves back to her room, as she finds a furious and harsh voice mail from Jake, calling her a ‘f*cking bitch’ who only thinks about herself, validating her decision to leave him. She takes the notebook drawing of Jake, rips it out, and stabs a knife into it. 

 

At night, things seem good in the Otherspace, as she tries to help everyone with each of her friends. It feels happy and sincere, but it begins to lose its spark. Her friends in the Otherspace try to comfort her, but they don’t really say anything that makes a lasting or meaningful impact. A-Man tries to see if Meg is okay, but he can’t offer advice other than “Cheer up!” and “We need you!” – They have a somewhat childlike naivete, but he remarks that there is no despair in the Otherspace, and that she can just be happy for these hours. It doesn’t work for Meg.

 

A cycle begins to occur as Meg stays at home over many days (albeit an unknown number) She tries applying for jobs online but hears very little, all while trying to help her mom around the house to feel useful. Anne tries to tell her to relax, even asking her if she'd like to go out and see a movie or something similar. Meg feels unmotivated and feels that she cannot do anything, spending one day, for instance, entirely in her room. Anne brings some dinner to her room, trying to speak with her. Meg does get up to bring the soup closer to her bed, thanking her mom. Anne sadly tells her to just let her know if she needs anything else. Meg draws something before going into the Otherspace.

 

One night, during another mission, as Meg is seen trying to look for something else. Meg snaps at this all being worthless. Every night it’s just the same artificial missions that affect people and places that don’t even exist. A-Man tries to calm her down, as the others share their memories with her. Meg tells them that she simply is never going to change, things aren't going to magically just get better, and that she’s not worth saving. We see the five drawings she made offer well-meaning but ineffective advice and support, as the space around them begins to implode.

 

A-Man blames Meg for causing this, as she begins to feel sorrow again, apologizing profusely. Leonardo tells her to stop apologizing for everything. As Meg tells everyone to be quiet, as the visuals feel more and more like a fever dream. We see explosions of dust, forming a large shadowy figure of Gem. Meg runs around the city, she begins to see a figure in the background, as it’s revealed to be Tyler. Meg runs to find him, apologizing for everything. As she is about to run into her arms, a force of debris comes behind and hits Meg toward the ground.

 

Meg wakes up and feels hopeless in both worlds. She gathers her notebooks and throws them into a box. Climbing upstairs to the attic, she throws the books inside and locks the door. She tries to call Tyler, but it goes to voicemail each time. Feeling lost and hopeless, she leaves only one page in the Otherspace at an easy disposal – the picture she drew of Tyler last night.

 

Meg finds herself in an animated world resembling Tyler’s apartment, which she had drawn bits and pieces of over time. Meg apologizes for not seeing Tyler in so long, but he remarks that it’s just really good to see her. They begin to have an informal conversation as Meg enjoys the normalcy in the change of pace. Tyler remarks that he wants to order a pizza, and asks Meg for her favorite toppings. She loves peppers and caramelized onions. Tyler steps out to get the pizza, and Meg sits on the couch.

 

Meg sits down and smiles, but hears a voice coming from the window. She moves toward it, seeing Tyler and the main 5 drawings talking about Meg. They share the belief that she’s an embarrassment and that they’re wasting time trying to help her. Meg feels heartbroken and sinks to the floor, as Gem appears in the apartment. She places a bottle of pills in her hand. “Come on, just bite the bullet. Save yourself 60 more years of misery.” Meg looks at the bottle as she wakes up.

 

Meg wakes up, feeling worried about her urge to harm herself. She checks her phone to see anyone she can contact, trying to avoid thinking about Tyler. However, she gets a call from Tyler immediately. We find out he was doing a triple feature at the movies with his sister, (and yes, one of the movies was Samurai Pizza Cats) but he is really worried about Meg’s well-being. Meg thanks him for the kind words but asks him why he cares about her so much, having known her for only a week in person. "God, that sounded so ungrateful and mean, I'm sor-" Tyler tells her to wait.

 

In a monologue, Tyler admits that he has had problems connecting with others as a child and grew up without much of a loving family. He longed to feel connected to someone, admitting that he saw a lot of himself in Meg, beyond just their common interests. He stutters, not meaning for it to sound like an insult, but an expression that Tyler feels like he can be himself and be honest around her. He didn’t mean to imply anything romantic, expect if she was interested too. He just...he was alone. He knows that what he’s saying sounds weird and maybe creepy, but he just wanted Meg to know that he does care about her, and he misses her. "I'll....I'll talk to you soon. Have a....good one." Not knowing how to end, he simply hangs up. Meg lays on the bed, realizing that he did a lot of the same things that Meg did.

 

Fairly late at night, Meg eats dinner with Anne, who asks if she was able to find any new jobs. Meg admits that she’d rather not talk about jobs right now, to which Anne understands. She tries shifting topics a bit, but Meg is still somewhat apathetic. Anne admits that she wishes she knew how to help her and thinks that having her stay at home wasn’t helping. “But Meg....Thank you...thank you for staying with me. I just felt so much better knowing you were under my roof and safe. I just...I wish there was more I could do,” Meg begins to get away from the table, only to see the time at 9:02pm. “Mom....I don't know why this is happening, but it's some kind of magic. I get teleported to this fantasy world each night, and the timing is connected to when I had the car accident. I don't know how to explain it, but I just had to finally tell you the truth. I'm sorry for keeping all this hidden. Just please don't freak out now that you know what's been happening. And absolutely don’t call 911. Thank you.” Meg lays down on the couch, snapping her fingers and closing her eyes.

 

She is in a room alone, the first time she woke up not in the same place as before. Gem materializes and asks if she wants to open the door and see what will come. Gem persuades her to open the door, as she sees a white void. Nothing. None of her friends. Gem blames her on destroying what she had valued most because of her pathetic, self-loathing attitude. Gem says that what had happened in her life was her fault – her father leaving, Jake abusing her, getting fired, destroying the Otherspace – she’s wasting time blaming things on others.

 

Gem subtly hints that the night at the grocery store, Meg may have been trying to do something putting herself in that dangerous situation. She was a very good driver, even during thunderstorms. Meg is in denial for everything she says, as they begin to fight. Gem keeps materializing and disappearing in various places, but Meg tries not to let herself be broken by the abuse Gem is throwing at her. Meg eventually tells herself: “No....you’re wrong. This is not my fault!” A huge beam of light is seen.

 

Meg wakes up, deciding to make breakfast for her mom to surprise her. She goes for a walk outside, trying to free her mind and focus on relaxing. Back at her room, Tyler calls back. He tries to ignore the contents of the call from the other day, worrying if he sounded like he was dumping his baggage on her, but instead discusses a new position found by a local furniture company looking for a junior data manager. It’s managed by Tyler’s sister, and he can help set up an interview the next day. Meg, more excited than ever before, accepts the interview, wanting to run downstairs as soon as the call ends.

 

Meg runs out of her room, explaining the good news to her mom. She quickly refutes it by saying that for it being a job in data entry it isn’t that impressive. Anne tells her not to qualify what she’s saying – having a job will be good for her at this point in her life, and it was so good of her to find the opportunity. She just needs to go into this interview feeling relaxed and easy. Meg is about to say that Tyler found it but admits that she should feel good for the moment, not finishing her thought.

 

Meg then remarks something else: She wants to start going to a therapist and taking antidepressants. “I think that maybe I can be cured. Something is wrong with me, and I’m going to fix it. I need to get this interview done, and just...let everything fall into place.” Anne tells her that she’s doing great work, and that she’ll be feeling better in no time. Meg cheers excitedly, but nerves soon rush in for her interview. She spends the day looking at interview practice on YouTube and filling out a job application. She asks her mom for details on a few things. She goes to bed feeling very nervous, but at 9:04pm, she snaps her fingers.

 

Meg materializes but sees that Gem has completely taken over the Otherspace. Her creations are slaved under Gem, and A-Man and his friends try to find Meg. He apologizes for not just listening to her and trusting her feelings – he worries that this may have been HIS fault. Meg forgives him, as they see Gem has the palace to herself. Sefavra, Leonardo, Dr. Narwhal, Marigold, and A-Man plan to distract the guards using various humorous techniques as Meg decides to face down her counterpart.

 

Gem thanks Meg for letting her take control of her mind, and Meg insists that she has come to take it back. The two begin to fight using swords, as a battle breaks out across the Otherspace. Meg refuses to be won over by Gem, and that Gem was completely wrong about her. “Every day. I am fighting back. I love and care about this world. I am strong enough. I am good enough. I am valuable enough. And I will make sure that you never win.” Gem freezes, becoming substantially weaker. She is about to fade away. "You...you can’t really think you’ve beaten me? I will come back, I promise." Meg says that she knows she cannot defeat Gem, but she will never stop trying to fight back.

 

Gem vanishes in a blinding light, which soon begins to encapsulate the scene. Meg looks at it, closing her eyes and smiling, shedding a tear.

 

Meg wakes up in a cold sweat. It’s the day of her interview. Anne asks if she wants any pancakes. Meg is too nervous to eat, but Anne reminds her that no matter what happens today, this is a brave step forward, and she is so proud of her daughter. She tells Meg that she will drive her to the office for the interview. It’s a quiet drive, as Meg tries to practice deep breathing. She goes inside and interviews Tyler’s sister, Elizabeth. (Cameo appearance from Issa Rae)

 

Elizabeth tries to help Meg relax a bit before the interview begins, and her questions begin easily. We don’t hear dialogue through the interview, but the scene is shot in a bit more of an artistic and observant nature than the other live action scenes so far. Silhouettes appear at first, but we cut back to normal as Elizabeth thanks Meg for her time, and that she will have a reply soon.

 

As Meg gets home, Anne reveals that she has something small to give her. It was supposedly to congratulate her on the interview, but with the status still unknown, and her desire to give this gift either way, she gives it to Meg. It was the journal that Nathan had locked away in her childhood – Anne had finally found it in the attic while doing some spring cleaning. She gives Meg a hug, telling her that she always loved her and tried to find a way to do what was right for her. She couldn’t stand the way Nathan treated her, knowing that Meg was the most important person in her life. They hug on the floor by the fireplace, as Meg asks if they can order pizza. “With caramelized onions and peppers?” Anne asks.

 

That night, Meg shows her mother some of the drawing she had made, recounting childhood memories and smiling with her. They hug again, as Anne tells her that she may not have all the answers, but she can offer her unconditional love in the meanwhile, and every moment after. No matter what, she will be there to love and help her daughter every step of the way. Meg also remarked that she found a good therapist, and that she really liked the walk she did a day or two ago. But....she just needs to take things one day at a time. “I couldn’t have asked for a better, stronger, more amazing daughter,” Anne says. They hug. It’s 9:04pm, so Anne brings her to the couch to lay down.

 

Meg wakes up in the room again, same as before. Gem is nowhere in sight. She goes to open the door, and a huge parade is held in her honor. A-Man tells her to grab a seat and come join in on the action – they don’t mention her “saving” the Otherspace but in her job interview and her overall triumph over Gem - for now. Meg is confused as to why they are celebrating if she didn’t even get the job. Marigold tells her that even going to that interview took a lot of courage and strength – it proved everything she had said that day to be true, and that she did truly believe it. Meg then asks if there were even any dark forces anymore.

 

A-Man tells her that the coast is clear for now, but Gem is still stronger than one thinks. He tells Meg that she is incredibly brave and good hearted, and that she knows that in both worlds, she is an absolute hero in every sense of the word. But she probably knows that already. Not everything will always be perfect, and that’s okay. Dr. Narwhal tells her that she had saved their world, saving probably quadrillions of lives, but now she can focus on being her own hero. A-Man promises that even if this was all a fantasy, they want it to be a reminder that she is just as brave, kind, and amazing in the real world as she is in the Otherspace.

 

Meg smiles. She sees Gem faintly in the distance but flips her off. Sefavra reveals that...it’s 4:33am. She asks what they want to do in their final hour together – for now. They play mini golf, which Meg had hastily suggested to Tyler before. “Wow, I should do this for the actual date. This is fun.” Their time together soon ends with a big group hug, as Meg wakes up, feeling well rested.

 

A few days later, we see Meg awake. She gives a call to Tyler, asking if his sister made any big decisions yet. Tyler replies that she’s still waiting, but between the two, Elizabeth saw a lot of potential in Meg. She softly fist-pumps to herself. Tyler says that he’s proud of her, and he looks forward to seeing her again in the flesh. Meg smiles, hoping that it will be soon. She hangs up.

 

In a montage, Meg begins to pack her bags again to head home, giving a big hug to Anne, as she drives Meg back home. Anne reminds her that she will be there for anything Meg needs - anything. Meg drops her things off, as she makes sure she has the box of journals still in her possession. She goes to her apartment, gets her bags sorted out, then drives to a therapy session. The scene goes by as we see Meg talk to her therapist and pick up antidepressants from a local drug store, and she then drives home, calling Tyler to see if he wants to hang out tonight. It won’t help take off pressure for knowing the verdict of the interview, but it’ll help kill some time.

 

The two play video games on her couch, playing user created avatars. She manages to model one off A-Man, as Tyler infers that it was probably one of her friends. Meg admits that it feels really good to see someone who understands what...all of this feels like. Tyler’s been struggling with it a lot in college but tells Meg that he just tries to do a bunch of different things. “Walks, games, yoga, I’m just open to pretty much anything. And you know...we can do a triple feature of our own one of these nights if you’d like. It’d sure be fun to just go on the journey called life with someone else.”

 

Meg smiles, but soon tells him that he’s about to get beat up. “And by the way, what movies were you thinking?” As they play for some time, Meg begins to get tired. She heads back to her apartment as she gives Tyler a hug. She leaves the apartment, and Tyler, smiling, continues the game. With Meg’s controller on the ground, he wins the game. Meg remarks that she saw that, and they laugh. The camera moves past them and to a clock at the oven. It is 10:15pm.

 

 

 

FIN

 

The end credits appear in a notebook, as we see more of her drawings.

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

S  P  A  R  K

---Homeward---

 

 

Director: F. Gary Gray

Composer: Thomas Newman (This is probably Newman's most intense, action-packed film to date. In addition to the etheral, softly jazzy feel he is known for, he experiments with several different insturments and synthesizers, again giving something of an 80s feel to it (particularly John Carpenter and Vangelis) but also creates some more surreal and daring rhythms throughout the film. During the climax, particularly, he experiments with strings and unusual instruments)

Director of Photography: Claudio Miranda

 

Major Cast: (**Indicates voice performance - all other aliens are done with a mix of practical makeup or motion capture)

• Sasha Lane as Alex Spark, a human with powers to control and manipulate energy, our protagonist.
• Charlie Heaton as Kozar Alcana, a wolf-like alien who is Alex's closest friend and lover.
• Taron Edgerton as Gavin Venchell, a human who seeks revenge for the unbearable trauma he went through.
• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Ezen Baklattan, the lizard-like leader of the Summit of Unity, and Katherine's partner.
• Octavia Spencer as Katherine Spark, Alex's birth mother and the SoU Coordinator of Galactic Relations
• Sam Rockwell as Everett Spark, Alex's disgraced and long lost human father.
• **Aubrey Plaza as Aera, Alex and Kozar's friend, a wheel/insect like alien whose filter is as short as her.
• Freida Pinto as Perthena Arvellian, Venchell's confidante and closest ally.
• Laura Dern as Beatrice Powell, a human representative for the SoU, and Alex's godmother.
• **Justin Theroux as Vycas Tarek, a ruthless senator in the SoU.

 

Hidden Cast:

Spoiler

• Kristen Wiig as Zari, Aera's mother
• Will Ferrell as Kipo, Aera's father
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Agorava Naryani, a disgraced senator and the antagonist of the previous film, now in prison for her crimes.

 

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure/Dramedy/Romance

Release Date: May 3rd, Y3

Theater Count: 4,304

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence including mild bloody images, thematic material and some language

Runtime: 152min (2hr, 32min)

Production Budget: $215 million

Previous Film Gross: $94.5m/$325.1m/$881.4m

 

PREMISE: In the previous film, a teenager with incredible power befriended and battled several aliens to fight a plot to destroy galactic civilization. As humans enter the galactic scene, a mysterious new threat arrives from her own species, and Alex and her allies find the last person they expected to aid them on their mission.

 

Spoiler

We hear a narration: “Sometimes, to help myself get into the swing of things, I like to think about how I got to where I am today. If nothing else, it reminds me what I’m fighting for.”

 

TEN YEARS AGO

 

We see a professor, Everett Spark, giving a university class a lecture on the potential for intelligent life outside planet Earth, and looking at the scores for the last assignment, the limited potential of it in this lecture hall. Everyone laughs. After the lecture, one student, Gavin Venchell (VERY light CGI and make-up used to age Taron backwards) comes up to him. It turns out he was the narrator from earlier. He is asking about a work study opportunity that he had posted as a research assistant, expressing a deep interest in life outside the universe.

 

“I was hoping you’d come up to me. You’re likely my best student, we can do an interview at the Starbucks down the street as a simple formality, but the position’s basically yours.” He hints that he had done a great deal of research but must keep it confidential. Venchell smiles, excited about the opportunity, mentioning that since his family is local it’ll also be easy for him to work over the summer, hoping this helps his application. They shake hands. Fade out.

 

The narration continues again: “Or should I say, who I’m fighting.” We then cut to two people in modern day, hiding out in what looks like an airport hangar. One is a female alien with magenta skin & webbed hands and a human with very pale skin, dark circles around his eyes and with messed up hair, blue veins across his body. (Imagine a mix of Hela from Thor and Tom from Star Vs. The Forces of Evil) He is trying to make himself relax. Perthena, the female alien, asks why he (revealed to be the current Venchell) is so nervous, given that they had done these hits before. Venchell wants to get back home as soon as possible to risk being seen, noting that it was harder to lure this guy towards his stretch of the galaxy. Perthena smiles, assuring him that this’ll be easy. Surveillance was disabled, the ship is waiting, the worst they’ll need to do is fight a few extra guards. She peaks behind a corner to find an alien senator, Vizzan, being guided by several guards to his ship. Perthena and Venchell nod to each other, moving toward the shadows.

 

As Senator Vizzan gets on the ship, guards stand around the ship and go inside. Once the doors close on the inside, we see shadows move behind the ships. After a pause, the two guards get shoved against one another by a mysterious force, knocking each one to the ground unconscious. Perthena and Venchell sneakily come up from beneath the ship, checking for more guards. As more people patrol the facility, Venchell uses his powers to control one of the guards’ fists, making him fight the others, then punching himself repeatedly. Perthena tells him to focus...but wants to see the guard punch himself just one more time. They soon move to grab their uniforms and retreat once again.

 

As they enter the ship, now disguised as two guards, they are shocked at how big it is. Their disguise is quickly seen through, and more guards attack. Venchell and Perthena, figuring this may happen, begin to fight the guards. Venchell dispatches them easily with his energy blasts, while Perthena better in close combat, helping Venchell create some chain attacks. Moving towards the ship’s kitchen, Venchell flings some forks into a microwave, luring guards in then triggering an explosion. Eventually, all the guards are defeated, and Perthena shuts down the ship’s controls. Venchell finds a door that leads to Vizzan’s suite, finding that he is somehow already sound asleep.

 

Perthena, shocked that he slept through the commotion, but knowing his species is full of deep sleepers, tells Venchell that it’s in bad form to kill someone who’s asleep. Perthena tells him that she’ll take care of it, and she goes up to him and fires four gunshots into the ceiling: “WAKE. THE. HELL. UP.” Obviously Vizzan wakes up, asking what the commotion is, soon turning around and becoming horrified to see Venchell. He begins to feel deep fear. “Remember me?” Venchell says. Vizzan nods his head furiously, while Venchell forgives him, knowing he was after all just one of thousands. (he says this in a sarcastic, but threatening tone) Vizzan refuses to acknowledge him, but Perthena pulls out her gun. “We asked nicely.”

 

Bang. We don’t see the shot or the wound, cutting instead to Venchell’s reaction, flinching as the shot is fired. Knowing how they took out the guards and surveillance systems beforehand, they should be off the mark easily, but need to keep moving.

 

Perthena: Senator Vizzan was taken out quite cleanly, don’t you think?

Venchell: True, but the weird feeling still kind of lingers, doesn’t it?

Perthena: You’ll get used to it over time, trust me. Besides, there are only 4 left. You won’t have to keep this up forever, but the galaxy will finally be free from their terror.

Venchell: I do suppose the hardest part is over, and we’ll have quite a celebration once it’s over. I saw that one of our allies makes great margaritas.

Perthena: Margaritas?

Venchell: Earth drink. Often used in celebratory affairs or by stressed-out middle-class denizens. But I digress. Once we take care of this, maybe I’ll finally feel free.

Perthena: I definitely hope so. And I’d love to try a margarita.

 

They hug, as the camera moves toward a file that Perthena pulled out: revealing 20 photos of different politicians under the label: Project Infinity. All but four faces are crossed out: Suran, K. Spark, Baklattan, and Tarek. Vizzan’s photo is crossed out.

 

We then cut to Celestial Haven, where Alex, now 19 years old, and Kozar, a wolf-like alien and her kinda-sorta boyfriend, are in bed together at a large, lofty apartment. Alex, checking the time, panics. She must meet with Ezen Baklattan at the capitol building, while Kozar can stay home and clean things up a bit. Kozar asks why she needs to meet so early. Alex, saying that it’s 11am (Kozar admits that it’s early by nothing-to-do-today standards), so it’s basically a lunch date. She swaps clothes quickly, using her powers of movement, controlling the energy around the room, to bring outfits over. She bolts out of the door.

 

 

(0:00 – 0:10) Kozar thinks about things he needs to do then immediately goes back to sleep.

 

(0:10 – 0:28) As Alex walks through the city, Celestial Haven (The capitol of Galactic society) she says hello to several aliens, deciding to take a scenic route by using her powers on her shoes to climb buildings easily and run along skyscrapers, a bit like parkour.

 

(0:19) HOURGLASS PICTURES PRESENTS

 

She even stops to photobomb a picture with one alien family. She passes a major advertisement:

 

THE CELESTIAL EXPO

Exhibitions and Innovations in Every Stretch of the Galaxy

Chicago, Earth, Sol System

IN TWO WEEKS!

 

(0:28) IN ASSOCIATION WITH 21 LAPS ENTERTAINMENT

 

(0:28 – 0:58) She stops along the way to see someone in a park trying to get an alien-cat (with more eyes than normal and scaly skin, among other odd features) out of a large tree. A few people crowd around her, as Alex smiles. She effortlessly lifts the cat out of the tree, much to the alien’s relief. She turns around and sees Alex, as people cheer. Alex winks and begins to move again, jumping into the sky.

 

(1:04)

SPARK: HOMEWARD

 

Eventually she arrives to a big hub of intergalactic communications and policy, as Katherine, the human coordinator of Galactic Relations in the Summit of Unity (The new, progressive(r) government after the fall of the Celestial Alliance), excitedly greets her daughter at her office.

 

Katherine: It’s so good to see you, Alex. I heard about the incident on....well, pretty much every mission you’ve worked on. You sure are putting your powers to good use.

Alex: It’s so much fun. It’s basically like being a superhero. Statistically speaking, I’m saving a couple thousand people a week on average, so it adds up. A little exhausting though.

Katherine: You sure are something else.

Alex: What can I say? It’s all in the genes. *They hug*

Katherine: Speaking of...Baklattan will be here any minute now.

Alex: Any idea on what he wanted to meet up with us regarding?

 

Ezen Baklattan, the lizard-like Leader of the Summit of Unity, appears in Katherine’s office. He reveals that he wanted to share a surprise with Alex and Katherine – Ezen was invited to a gala celebration at a luxury hotel in Lachino - a planet geared around leisure, entertainment, and fun – and the event coordinators wanted to see if Alex could make an appearance. Leading the summit had been stressful for both Ezen and Katherine, and he admits that it could be a chance for a... family vacation, especially since a few others from the Summit are going.

 

Alex: Wait...this isn’t going to be a public speaking gig, is it?

Ezen: So, you can save the galaxy, but a public speech is too hard?

Alex: Oh, shut up.

Ezen: And you did a great job with that rallying speech.

Alex: It’s easier when the entire galaxy is on the line, and it felt right in the moment. That, and it was well over a year ago.

Ezen: Okay....how can I convince you?

Katherine: Don’t listen to him, you don’t have to say a word.

Ezen: Katherine, you ruined the punchline! Anyways....yep. Just feel free to mingle and enjoy the hour d’ourves. That’s what the Spanish call it, no?

Alex: French, but....close enough. Thanks, Ezen.

Ezen: Oh, and your friends are welcome to come as well. In one case, I could say more-than-friend...

Alex: Heh....guilty as charged.

Ezen: The event’s in a week – plenty of time to find some good attire.

 

Ezen suddenly sees a long line of politicians wishing to speak with him. He sighs, saying that they can talk later. Katherine heads back to work too, saying that she’ll pick out her dress tonight. Alex smiles, but can’t say goodbye as they run off. She feels mildly disappointed, and Ezen himself shows signs of burnout and stress. Politicians ask about initiatives to rebuild the galactic economy and institutions, which Ezen tries to answer but soon gets overpowered by more questions on unrelated, relatively trivial matters. However, one alien politician (with black eyes and an oddly slender appearance) asks Alex if she can sign a tablet for his niece. Alex shrugs and uses her powers of manipulating energy to burn her signature into the poster base. 

 

A week passes, and we see the glitz, excitement, and glamour of Lachino in person – the city is alive with neon lights, vivid LED displays, and entertainment on every corner. We see a shot panning through the city as we eventually arrive at the hotel of the gala, held at the top floor with a glass window surrounding. The camera proceeds moving through aliens in suits as they murmur about Alex Spark being present, as well as how humans are integrating into galactic society. One remarks: “Every civilization so far was a bit shaky when first discovering they’re not alone – give ‘em some time. They’re hardly a special case, all things considered.” Another: “Well at least Alex gets her genes from her mother and not her wretched father. Unless I’m wrong and Ezen’s her dad. Huh.” We eventually cut to the arrival of Kozar and Alex, wearing a black suit and dress (with blue and green crystals) respectively.

 

We see Aera, the wheel/insect like alien, already there. She is on a phone call with her parents, as she tries to explain to them how to work a new technological device, but her advice is quite un-useful because of how intoxicated she is. She drunkenly calls for Alex and Kozar, happy that her friends have made it.

 

Kozar: How....how much did you drink already?

Aera: A.....lot.

Kozar: Okay....you gotta learn to pace yourself.

Aera: I pace just fine, thank you very much! *She rolls around the room, immediately bumping into someone and falling on her side.*

 

Alex is excited to see galactic high society in action but checks a jacket first. The stewardess is a bit humorously geeked out, while Alex gives a light smile and – without saying anything - and uses her power to lift her phone out of her pocket. She takes a selfie with the stewardess and puts it back, also leaving a big tip. The stewardess faints, as we see someone sneak into a back-hall behind her in a gas mask. No one notices.

 

Alex is called back into the party before she can address the two uninvited guests, as a bunch of aliens ask her questions about her recent escapades (or when she and Kozar are getting engaged). Alex happily obliges to many questions, but admittedly feels overwhelmed. Ezen (noticeably surrounded by service agents) clears the people away, asking Alex if she would like some food. “The main thing I want right now is to just sit down and relax for a bit. If that involves having some miniature qucihes, I can be okay with that.”

 

We see the array of food, including alien delicacies and odd dishes, as well as a new, unique human food: pizza. As Ezen is amazed at the taste of Pizza, he brings a slice to Alex, and they sit down and laugh. Kozar, Katherine, and Aera (who is still mildly intoxicated, but somehow is sobering up) all enjoy the moments of calmness, as Ezen begins to gossip about the quirks of being head of a galactic congress, but just as they are about to relax, the host announces the time for the Lachinian Waltz. Alex sighs, as Kozar escorts her to the dance floor, while Katherine and Ezen go up together. Aera simply “stands” by the table awkwardly: “Guess I’m the third wheel.”

 

The waltz begins, the camera focusing on Kozar and Alex. Kozar is a terrible dancer, quietly asking Alex to just use her powers on his feet – she laughs, agreeing to do so. As they get close to Ezen and Katherine, Kozar whispers to Ezen for advice on making...romantic moves towards her daughter.

 

Ezen: I wouldn’t know – I never really needed to be a parent until just this year. She's also 19 or something - she's an adult. Not much else I need to do. Don’t you live together? 

Kozar: We literally just moved in – I only knew her for about a year...too soon?

Ezen: Well I know her enough to know that she likes you.

Kozar: But what if I say something wrong or embarrassing or stupid or? *Alex turns his head, revealing herself to have been listening*

Alex: So? I do stuff like that all the time. Now look out. Just relax.

 

The dance ends, and Alex believes that they can finally rest. The chef brings out a massive cake, calling for a grand desert, much to the cheers of everyone. However, the chef hears a small ticking noise inside, acting confused. Alex, in a moment of split hesitation, runs towards the cake and hurls something out of it towards the window, but the ticking stops, and an explosion occurs, shattering the glass and setting a fire. A few bodies lay on the ground.

 

People are running towards the exit screaming, as Ezen’s security guards send Katherine and Ezen away to safety. Alex calls for them: “Get everyone to the ground floor – We’ll stay behind and fight.” Aera quickly shouts: “We?!”

 

We then see various airships surround the building, opening fire at the remaining civilians – Alex uses her powers to lift the tables as barriers to defend the party-goers as they run into the kitchen for safety. Kozar pulls out a gun and tries to fire at the ships. “You brought a gun to this?!” Alex asks, shocked. “At things you’re involved in, things have a tendency to get crazy.” Kozar says. “Touche.” Alex uses the glass panels to create a stairway mid air to get into one of the airships, as Kozar follows behind. Aera stays behind to get everyone to safety on the ground floor, but her abilities aren't as strong due to her intoxication. 

 

Alex comes face to face with the alien terrorists, all in gas masks, gloves, and jackets, as she begins to blast them with energy. They prove to be strong fighters against Alex, managing to stay ahead of her. Alex knocks the mask off one of the terrorists, revealed to be Perthena. “Son of a bitch. I didn’t think you’d show up to this...but I can take you. No sweat.”

 

As Perthena and her allies fight Alex, Kozar utilizes the commotion to seize the ship’s gun, firing at the other ships. Alex is eventually able to defeat them, but one ship – which Perthena had jumped onto in the commotion -  is getting away. Alex, desperate to pursue the remaining ship, chases after them in the city. Kozar tells her to hold off and get to safety, but Alex realizes that the leader is on that ship, and they could do so much more damage if she escapes. A frantic ship chase through the downtown city begins, with Kozar frantically telling her to slow down and avoid sharp turns. They pull off several daring maneuvers and nearly hit buildings multiple times.

 

We see Perthena calling for backup: “Master, this is Perthena Arvellian, we are retreating back to the base now. The Spark and her cosmic cronies found us.” She fires a pistol at the LED displays in the city to try and create sparks to distract the main trio.

 

Alex tells Kozar to take over as she tries to get onto the ship’s roof and use her powers to fire at Perthena’s ship, as well as block the sparks. However, Kozar begins to freeze after hearing and seeing the sparks. As Perthena and Alex continue their dogfight, Kozar struggles to control the ship, feeling unease at something. He begins to have flashbacks to Infinites seizing his home planet and killing his family – firing blasts like the ones of Perthena’s bullets hitting the LED displays. He begins to freeze in panic and despair.

 

Alex: Kozar, need you to focus! Get us through this!

Perthena: Tell your boyfriend he needs to work on his piloting skills.

Alex: Just you see, he’ll...hopefully be back at full speed soon! Hopefully.

 

Alex begins to look concerned, pausing. Eventually, we see Perthena bolt off as Alex and Kozar’s (Who’s beginning to have a minor panic attack) ship hits some buildings and crash-lands in the lake. Alex tries to save Kozar, who is trapped inside the ship but being in the deep water suppresses her abilities and movement. She is legitimately helpless. They are eventually saved by an airship of the Lachino Safety Department, as a blinding light causes the scene to fade out.

 

We cut to a news report that nearly 30 were dead, and over a hundred people were injured at the night’s events in Lachino. One of the casualties was SOU Secretary of Finances Kir Suran. Alex is watching the news unfold in a hallway outside the Summit of Unity’s main congressional hall. She looks devastated and guilty, as Kozar and Aera try to comfort her. “I’m......I’m sorry about messing up the pursuit. Something just happened and I.....I...lost control. I feel better know, but I just had a memory I’d rather not revisit.” Alex tells him that it’s okay, and that he can say what’s on my mind. Kozar then insists that he lost his train of thought and can’t to get into it.

 

Alex is summoned in, hearing that Ezen wanted to show her something. Aera hopes that it’s another vacation. Hopefully to a tropical beach planet. Instead, widespread panic occurs in the room, with loud arguments breaking out that Ezen struggles to control. There is panic that senators are being mysteriously killed, and that the bombing was tied to these killings, but others suspect that they were killed in the final skirmishes of War of the Infinites. Alex creates a blast of energy that silences the arguments, making Kozar quietly impressed. Ezen begins to speak. “We lost a lot of great people in Lachino, but without your action, the toll would be so much higher. So we thank you greatly. However, in your pursuit of them, were you able to give us any information that could help us?”

 

Alex struggles to speak, trying to remember details about Perthena, her men, and the ships that attacked the building. Alex begins to describe her appearance to the best of her Someone chimes in from the audience: “That settles it.” Senator Vycas Tarek, a tall, slender, and vaguely avian alien, chimes in. His features do resemble more of a LOTR style elf, but enough of a distinction that his role is voiced. “There’s a syndicate of radical terrorists that she’s been suspected to be a part of. I thank the celestial powers that I’ve been further able to find a great deal of information on then, including a potential lead on their base of operations. This description may not be perfect, but it seems too clear to be anyone else.”

 

Alex is pleased by the news, saying that she’s ready to find the syndicate and shut them down. Tarek tells her to slow down: “You’re not the only one who’s allowed to save us. *laughter* I’m sending a powerful squadron to take them out – they’ll be able to see you coming from a mile away and can prepare. We need to use elite resources against these. We don’t know what we’re up against.” Alex is confused, believing that she can still be very useful. Tarek becomes frustrated at Alex’s persistence, motioning to Ezen, who sighs.

 

Ezen, feeling overpowered by his fellow senators, reluctantly tries to convince Alex that it’s not worth fighting every single battle, and that they may need to rest. Alex tells him that she can handle it, but Ezen tries to help convince her that this is for the best, and Katherine does not refute it. After some pressure, Alex agrees to stand down and – moreover – return to Earth to avoid being a threat to Celestial Haven, especially on the hypothesis that the bombing may have really targeted Alex. Alex tries to mention that the suspect said she didn’t expect Alex to be there, but her testimony is dismissed by Tarek, as the gunfire and explosions may have made any potential discussion hard to hear, and that Alex may be mistaken. They can’t be too sure. Beatrice Powell, the representative for humanity, arrives, apologizing for running late due to a last-minute humanitarian emergency, agreeing to host Alex.

 

We see Alex loading up bags onto Beatrice’s (who still lives on Earth) personal starship, as Kozar and Aera reveal that they will come to Earth too. Beatrice remarks that there’s plenty of room in the new apartment, and that the two had barely seen Earth when not trying to desperately save Alex, so this could be a fun vacation. Aera smiles to herself, “I knew it,” but Kozar glares at her. “What?” Aera says, defensively. Beatrice admits a lack of understanding of the secrecy but knows that Alex had been pushing herself to the brink as of late.

 

As Alex goes to Katherine and Ezen, she makes them promise that they will do everything in their power to stop the antagonists. “We’ll have to be as precise as possible – but you have our word that no more harm will come.” They share one last hug, as Alex bids farewell and gets on the ship. Katherine tells Ezen that she is unsure about sending Alex back to Earth, but Ezen proceeds to order a small squadron of troops to keep watch of Alex on Earth, making sure she’s truly safe.

 

The ship departs, as we see several aliens holding up signs saying, “We’ll miss you, Alex!” and “Come Home Soon!” Alex eyes this sign, specifically how it says ‘home’. She lets out a disappointed sigh. The ship travels through space, then returning to Chicago, which largely looks identical to how we had seen it in the first movie – Beatrice now lives at a very nice apartment right in the loop, parking her ship on the roof of the high-rise. Kozar and Aera, mimicking Alex in the first movie, soon crash on the couch shortly after they arrive. Beatrice comforts Alex, telling her to do something to take her mind off this craziness – Ezen and the others will have things under control soon. In the meanwhile, she throws $200 in cash down on the table. “Kozar and Aera haven’t had a week in the windy city yet, have they? Give ‘em some fun on the town tomorrow. Construction’s a bit dicey because of the Celestial Expo set up, but I petitioned so hard for Earth to get it this year, it feels very rewarding. So sorry, and you’re welcome.”

 

The gang heads to bed, but Alex gets a terrible night of sleep; she has a nightmare about her father, remembering her time within the scientific base destroyed as her father tries to utilize her power, eventually running away from her as the destruction occurs. She then has visions of Naryani as she rebuilds the facility and continues the work, imagining Everett at her side. A figure resembling Venchell runs around in the shadows, telling Alex that soon, she will see what her lineage has done to the galaxy. He snaps his fingers and the world begins to crumble.

 

She runs out of bed, only to see that Kozar, Aera, and Beatrice are fully dressed and in the kitchen. Beatrice is showing them embarrassing videos of Alex playing the title character in a kids’ production of Annie. Alex uses her powers to turn the Television off, joking that they should have seen her in Xanadu. The joke falls flat as Kozar and Aera have no idea what that is. “Right....well get some coffee. I’m gonna show you around my city today.” Aera then asks....” what’s coffee?”

 

Cut to the three of them at a coffee shop table. Kozar’s world is completely changed, as is Aera’s. “Oh my god. This is the source of energy for humans. It’s insane!!!!”, she says. As Aera is tripping over the coffee, she gets another call from her parents about the tech problems, and she still cannot give a coherent answer. Kozar twitches wildly, having never had coffee before, as Alex, now feeling awake, decides it’s a perfect time to hit the city.

 

The trio hit all kinds of Chicago attractions throughout the week (again, Kozar and Aera acting just like Alex did in the first movie first discovering Celestial Haven – excited and amazed, while the music even is a more jazzy version of the same music that played in that scene in SR) – They visit the bean in millennium park, marvel at the dinosaur at Field Museum, ride the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel, and top it off with a game at Wrigley Field – several fans note Alex, and even the ball player want a picture with her. (The audience is mostly humans, but there are a few scattered alien tourists in the city.) Kozar asks if she's been there all her life, while she admits that she was born in Milwaukee, spent a few formative years in Iowa, moved here after...the big thing in her youth went down. She shrugs it off and laughs.

 

Finishing the day, they decide to go to a small pizza shop, where the owner gives them a pizza on the house. The sounds of the oven startle Kozar a bit, but not as much as in the Lachinian chase. Alex doesn’t even notice. As they sit down and eat, with Kozar trying easily to stay calm, Alex tells him about the times that Beatrice took her here after working in the planetarium. Being in space changed her life for the better, but it was good to just be home. She felt like the last year never happened, aside from dating a wolf. Kozar is confused. “Long story. Earth has a lot of...biological diversity. I’ll get into it later.” As they continue to chat the night away, trying to figure out how Aera eats so much pizza, they head home.

 

Alex soon begins to hear some voices in her head, saying nothing as they travel back. They get louder as they approach home, and Kozar notices Alex seemingly in plain. They soon arrive at the apartment, walking down the hall, the voices now louder than ever. The camera is placed directly behind Alex as she opens the door and first sees Beatrice talking to someone, feeling shocked and nervous. However, the voices have gone completely silent. Beatrice turns towards Alex, telling her not to panic as she fully opens the door.

 

Alex opens the door fully. She sees her estranged human father, Everett Spark, dressed is somewhat casual attire. “Alexandra....” Alex stands frozen in fear, as Aera rolls over to see who it is. Upon a first glance, she falls on her side. “Wh....what....what are you doing here? How did you find me?! Did you know about the attack?!” Everett calmly tells her to relax, giving her a hug. Alex is still too frozen in shock to do anything.

 

Everett: Alex...the attack is why I’m here.

Alex: Stop....you caused it, didn’t you? I...I can turn you in. I need to tell Katherine right now! *She picks up her phone, but Everett hurls it across the room with powers of his own* No...no way.

Kozar: What do you want?!

Everett:  Please...let me explain. I did something horrible to the galaxy. I want to do everything in my power to make things right. I know who caused these attacks, and where they are.

Alex: How can I trust you?

Everett: I have proof.

 

Everett goes towards a Television set and uses a smartphone-esque device to project files on Perthena and her syndicate, a group called The Final Paradise. They were plotting against the Celestial Alliance for years for unknown reasons, but may be led not just by Perthena, but by a human infinite.

 

Alex: But...but I thought the infinites disappeared.

Everett:  Except one. He was to be executed after an attack in the base, but he escaped.

Alex: And you know he’s with them?

Everett:  They’re targeting people involved in the Infinite Experiment. Your family is in grave danger – we need to stop them, but we can’t let the Summit tag along. We need to be as discreet as possible.

Alex: But they’d be after you too, right? Going there would be suicide.

Everett: They don’t know I’m Everett. As far as they know, I’m Hedrow Mitchell.

Alex: ....that’s the best name you could come up with?

 

Everett digresses, saying that they need to face them directly. “Come with me. I want to make this right, and I want to fight with you for the good of the galaxy. Just like you dreamed of.” Alex turns to Beatrice, who had seen the information before she arrived. “Alex, I only promised him to let him speak with you. Nothing more, I had a gun pointed at him before you met. Whatever you decide, I will not say a word. I know you can take them easily. This is insane and maybe idiotic, but I can promise you, you will be in contact with me 24/7. I’ll even find a double, so everyone thinks you’re still on Earth. I wouldn’t let you jump into this alone. It’s your call.”

 

Alex thinks briefly about the memories of her father, still unsure about helping him after his betrayal. Looking to Kozar and Aera, nods. She goes up to Everett: “I’ll give you a second chance. But we need to stay hidden and make it a one way stop to the Final Paradise base. I see what you do and who you interact with 24/7. Cross me, and I won’t be forgiving. Are we clear?” Everett turns to Beatrice, saying that she raised her well...at least for about 8 years. We see Alex, Kozar, and Aera get onto Everett’s ship – much bigger (albeit rundown) than Beatrice’s, taking off into the sky. We then return to Beatrice, as she investigates some of the files a bit further. We see the ship enter the hemisphere, while Alex, Kozar, and Aera are inside with Everett.

 

Meanwhile, we focus on Venchell again, transitioning to him having dinner with a few different aliens in a somewhat run-down mess hall. Venchell seems to be writing down something, putting it into a letter sized envelope as Perthena arrives. Venchell asks how the mission went. Perthena admits that “the spark” almost got them, and they only managed to take out one of the remaining 3, but it was better than nothing. Venchell tells her to relax and that 1 is better than nothing, especially if Alex intervened. “I knew the Lachinian bombing was a crapshoot, but I’m....glad she lowered casualties, I guess. Not sure if I was ready to make that ethical misstep, truth be told. Besides, we’ve got a good number of backup plans. And one of them involves getting armed. I know a guy a few systems over who can give us what we need. But Alex may be a bigger part of the plan than we think. If all goes well, she may very well become one of our allies, so I’m gonna try not to get her killed.”

 

Perthena is hesitant to return to galactic space, knowing that some “higher-ups” may be explicitly looking for her, especially Alex. Venchell tells her not to worry – he’ll make plans to go there and receive the arms directly. As Perthena is worried about him being seen more so than her, Venchell dissuades her fear: “The dealer’s in a special kind of setting. If anyone sees me, they sure as hell won’t remember it.”

 

On Everett’s ship. Alex, after a pause, says: “Wait god this is a mistake. I need to get back home now.” Kozar snarks about how she just now is feeling weird, only to be chastised by Alex for barely saying anything. Alex admits the bickering isn’t important, transitioning instead to Everett. She tries to ask Everett what he had done in the time since.... everything went down. Everett explains that he had been living as a secret mercenary, building the funds to develop an arsenal and a ship so that he could find Alex again and reunite with her. Venchell’s name had been floating around several circles in the underground of the galaxy for quite some time.

 

“It’s funny, though, many of the people who’ve been working with him had their worlds destroyed in the infinite war. They’re still pretty much destroyed. You’d think the Ezen would care a bit more about that. No, sorry, that sounded bad. He’s been doing good work. And I mean we’re trying to save him for Pete’s sake.” Alex interprets his subdued bitterness towards Ezen and Katherine, trying to give a non-committal agreement and keep moving. “They’ve been trying. For something called The Summit of Unity, there’s a lot of arguments about how to pick up the pieces,” Alex says. Kozar interjects, apologizing for halting the discourse and realizing they’re low on gas.

 

Everett tries to find the nearest place that has rations and gasoline supply. They find it on a massive space station that happens to be the final home of the Raziks, a race of cyan, gelatinous creatures whose home world was destroyed in the War of the Infinites. “They should have an embassy deck where ships can refuel on stock – we’ll be in and out in no time.” Alex agrees to look for food, but as they begin to dock, we see a large, plasma door that Venchell, wearing a hood, goes towards. A few people move through the door and go through easily, but Venchell stops. “I saw the latest pic, it was quite splendid. Didn’t think I could enjoy it twice in one night.” The Razik nods, giving him a glass with a reddish liquid inside. Venchell chugs it, smiles, and walks through.

 

Kozar notices him drinking the serum but doesn’t realize it is Venchell. As Alex and Aera look for snacks

(Alex thinks Aera’s choices are pretty bad) and Everett refilling gas, Kozar begins to move toward the door. He tries to guess the password, looking at the man faintly through the door, realizing it may be Venchell, but humorously comes up short. Eventually, he gives up and runs inside.

 

It was a neon colored marketplace, specifically selling black market drugs, weapons, pirated arts, stolen artifacts, and more. It was the perfect hideout against any law enforcement. Kozar feels a bit awkward but tries to find Venchell. We cut to Venchell speaking with a Rizak to pick up the guns. “This is our strongest lot, saved just for you.” Venchell smiles, thanking him for the courtesy. “You’ve seen the truth of our world and are fighting for justice. You deserve a great deal of respect. *pause* And in how coherent you sound, you clearly had the serum.”

 

As we cut to Kozar, the Rizak gives a voice over explanation as he navigates the maze of the market: The Rizaks breath an air known to cause hallucinations to other species, and only a few trusted individuals can get access to the serum that gives them immunity to the hallucinations, at least for a limited time. Those who don’t.... often become market goods themselves. We see the alien who walked in without the serum lying on the ground, soon taken by another alien and dragged away into the shadows. Kozar soon finds Venchell as the weapons are loaded onto his ship. Kozar pulls out a gun, but is stopped by Venchell, who uses his powers to freeze Kozar.

 

Venchell: I don’t mean to hurt you. And considering you killed a few of my allies, that’s a great deal of restraint.

Kozar: So you were the one who caused the bombing.

Venchell: None of your business. Truth be told I don’t even want to kill you. Well I do a bit at this moment, but not in the grand scheme of things. Now let me go on my way, or I won’t be as courteous.

Kozar: I have to tell everyone.

Venchell: Oh please, anyone here has done equally dubious things, some of the guys here kill 30 people on an off day. Just let us go our separate ways. This is my final warning.

 

They begin to fight, with Venchell attacking Kozar fairly easily, leaving him somewhat bloodied. Venchell remarks that he had warned him, and that he does need to run. Kozar begins to navigate the maze of the marketplace to chase him. Kozar begins to get lost and confused, finding several versions of Venchell and eventually watching the market fold into an Escher-esque maze. As things get trippier and trippier, the music of the market begins to get hazy as Kozar tries to chase what appears to be Venchell but begins to lose him. Kozar finds himself in a long, narrow hallway. Kozar finds a door at the end of a large hallway, opening it.

 

The door opens to an empty street in a suburban-ish setting.

 

Suddenly, he is on what used to be his home planet. It has a resemblance to a modernistic metropolis covered in greenery. He then hears a voice calling for him. At their house, his parents are happy to see them, saying that they feared they’d never see them again. Kozar goes up to them, confused but somewhat euphoric. They hug, as Kozar’s father promises that they will never leave him again. Kozar lifts his hand and finds blood on it. Turning around, the scene evolves into chaos as infinite soldiers destroy the planet. He cries for help and begins to run as his parents are killed.

 

As Alex, Everett, and Aera begin to leave, Alex asks where Kozar went. Seeing the door, Everett figures it out immediately. He forms a bubble of energy around his head and runs through the door. He runs through the labyrinthian market in a nervous hurry and finds Kozar in fetal position on the ground, crying for help. Back in Kozar’s mind, a massive blast of energy pushes the infinites away into the sky, as an angel seemingly descends from the sky. “Kozar...Kozar...Kozar?!”

 

** NEW SCENE ADDED 4/20 **

Spoiler

Meanwhile, as the last of the weapons are loaded onto Venchell's ship with the help of the Rizak arms dealer, he admits that he wants to spend a moment in the market place, just to get a quick whiff of something. He brings a phone like device out of his pocket. 60 seconds after I press this, can you some get me? In one shot, he steps back into the market and the camera turns around him. He closes his eyes and finds himself in a Earth-style home. He imagines the human Venchell (as a separate entity) having told his parents about the job offer, and them celebrating. Venchell narrates as he sees the dreamlike memory play out. "You've become a distant memory, and I'm not even sure you're still around, but the Gavin you knew is still in here somewhere. I just want you to know that I've still got room for you in my heart, however small I am, however different I am. He closes his eyes, as the Rizak appears in the market, taking his arm. "I'm ready. I just needed that for a moment."

 

Kozar wakes up and sees Everett trying to save him. “Are you okay?! What were you thinking!?” Kozar says that he saw Venchell in the market, potentially picking up weapons. He tried to find him but failed. Something....happened to him. He thinks it was a nightmare, but he begins to talk about something regarding his parents but shies away. Alex tells him that she will listen (maybe not Aera, though) and that he can be honest with her. Kozar refuses to engage with the topic further, going back to the ship. “Sorry if I snapped, I just...I just don’t know how to talk about it.”

 

On the ship, Alex thanks Everett for saving Kozar. Everett smiles, glad that he could help his daughter again, or at least the people she cares about. Alex smiles, thinking that it may be good when Ezen and Katherine see him again, hoping that they can unite on good terms after they stop this syndicate. Everett smiles, but tells her to take it easy. There’s still a great deal she needs to learn about the galaxy. Kozar interjects, asking if he’d like to take his mind off things for a little bit. So....I was speaking with Katherine, and she told me about this game you used to play all the time as a kid. He holds a deck of playing cards.

 

The play the game Spoons, as Aera somehow manages to carry the cards with her antennae. Kozar decides not to ask how. The game goes well, as Everett tries to let Alex win as much as possible. Alex wants a fair game, so tries to make it so Aera wins. Feeling accomplished, she texts her parents a picture of their victory...only for them to have more tech questions. Kozar feels tired, admitting it’s been a long day and wanting to go to bed. As the others begin to head to bed too, except for Everett, who still needs to pilot the ship, humorously feeling left standing. Alex tries to speak to Kozar and see if he is feeling okay, but he is fully asleep. Alex puts a blanket on him.

 

Back at the Summit of Unity, Tarek stops by Katherines desk, telling her that they found new information on The Final Paradise, as Katherine thanks her. She’s been trying to reach Ezen all day, but to no avail. She sighs, as Venchell tells Katherine to update Alex and make sure she’s in the know. The last thing they need is for her to go rogue. Katherine feels weird about it being explained that way, but still wants to call her up, just to see how she’s doing. Ezen finally appears by her desk, happy to speak with Alex.

 

In the main area of the ship, Alex’s phone suddenly blows up. It is a video message from Ezen and Katherine. Alex panics when she realizes that they’ll know she’s in space. Alex, in a moment of panic, accepts the call, only to regret it a moment later. Katherine is in her office.

 

Katherine: Hey Alex! How’s life on Earth?

Alex: *checking the wall behind her* It’s...uh....great! Man, I just enjoyed some good Earth food!

Katherine: It’s okay, you can breathe. Tarek has the situation under control and found a good lead on the people responsible.

Alex: Really?!

Katherine: We can send a squad to take them down – you won’t even have to lift a finger.

Alex: That’s good to know. *hiding nerves* Yay! So...how are you doing?

Ezen: We’re just really glad to see you again. Sorry circumstances have been off, and I’m really sorry we had to send you to Earth. I just...I need to be honest with you. There’s been a bunch of people thinking you were tied to the motivation of the events on Lachino and are trying to keep you away from Celestial Haven. I know what you said, and I believed you. I’m...sorry. I should have tried to reason with them, but *sighs* It’s been difficult managing the Summit.

Alex: Ezen, I know you’re doing your best. Hopefully once that’s taken care of I can come back home. I really miss you, and I can’t wait to see you again.

Katherine: We can’t wait to see you too.

Alex: Thanks mom, I really appreciate it. Truth be told I’m feeling really tired so can we –

Everett:  *off camera* Did you say ‘mom’?

 

A pause occurs, as Alex looks horrified. Katherine becomes confused, recognizing the voice. Everett runs to the camera screen and sees the woman she loved. Katherine is absolutely shocked, not to mention mildly furious, as Alex looks extremely nervous for what’s about to happen. Ezen, at the request of Katherine, nervously steps away from the camera and goes off-screen.

 

Katherine: Alexandra Nadine Spark....how did you meet this man?

Alex: Look....we’re on Earth now. We’re happy you have things under control. He is staying on the planet for good. Right? *looking to Everett*

Everett:  Katherine, I....

 

Katherine, realizing they are not on Earth, is furious with Everett. For him to return to their life after committing these atrocities, and to rope her daughter into their latest scheme without her knowledge –Alex tries to make peace as the two fight, while Katherine is furious at Alex for lying to her and potentially compromising Tarek’s mission, but not nearly as much as Everett. Her anger turns to sorrow as he begs for forgiveness, saying that he only did this to try and make things right. She soon has nothing to say – she will say nothing about the call but warns Alex that going to the base could be a huge mistake.

 

Alex says that she was terrified about it too, but that they may need all the dirt possible to get a chance to defeat these people, and he felt compelled to go after him. She unwittingly implies that she does not think that Katherine and Ezen can catch him without their help. She asks that they don’t say a word, says that she loves her parents and hangs up. We cut to Katherine’s office, who sits down in despair and shock. Ezen goes to comfort her, but she says that everything is okay. Tarek comes into the office, informing them that SoU soldiers have found the base, and a squadron will attack tomorrow. Ezen says nothing but a thank you for the notification.

 

Back on the ship, Alex is mad that Everett interjected the call. He was too shocked by Katherine that she just needed to say something. Alex sighs, admitting that Everett that maybe going to the base is a mistake – someone will take care of it. Everett tries to convince her to continue, knowing that they are so far along and subtly insulting her for wanting to stop now, also noting her own doubt in the summits’ abilities. We see that Kozar was secretly listening in on the conversation, and he steps in to Alex’s defense. Everett hits him, as Alex begins to power up in rage. She reluctantly agrees to keep going but begins to doubt that he has really changed. Everett quickly apologizes to her, admitting that he needs to do something right for once, but acknowledges that he shouldn’t lose his humanity in the process.

 

We then see Venchell’s ship return to the Planet of The Final Paradise. It is a building of makeshift buildings, camps, and homes made from found supplies, almost like a gigantic shantytown. He places the weapons into a large bronze vault at the center of the base. Venchell meets with Perthena, saying that the guns will be the perfect back-up in case the events that transpire today go south. Perthena slowly realizes what they are talking about, agreeing.

 

Meanwhile, Everett’s ship arrives on the planet, claiming that he managed to infiltrate this community and knows how to attack. However, he orders Alex, Kozar, and Aera not to attack until his word. Alex promises. Someone arrives at the ship yard, claiming that Venchell had been expecting the four of them, much to Alex’s confusion. She looks to Everett, who nods at her. An alien guide, showing himself as the same species as Kozar, introduces himself. “Ah, looks like one of you is also a Pargal, nice to meet another one of my own species.” Kozar smiles, happy to meet him. “I thought most of us were gone, so it’s good to see another one like you.” Kozar feels more uneasy than ever.

 

They navigate through the town, fiercely protected and with highly encrypted modern technology used. “This had been an uncharted world where enclaves and communes of diverse alien life had formed safely, undetectable by galactic society at large. Our founders, Perthena Arvellian and Gavin Venchell, are hosting a ceremony to welcome you tonight, what with your caliber and all.” Kozar is a bit confused, asking how they knew they were coming, but Everett (aka Hedrow) tells them that he spoke with Venchell and set it up. Kozar needs to use his memory a bit more.

 

At the ceremony, Everett tells Alex and Kozar to keep things civilized, especially Aera. Aera has no idea what the ceremony will bring but seems more interested in what will be for dinner. Suddenly, a siren blows, as we see a large Amphitheatre with several alien species sitting together, and the main quartet in the first row. Venchell and Perthena come out from behind a curtain to their cheers. Venchell begins to speak, thanking everyone for coming tonight and celebrating their special guests. “True, they tried to kill us, (Perthena interjects: “Violently. Still a bit ticked about it, but I can be forgiving.” – mild laughter breaks out) but hopefully tonight we can reach a more mutual understanding.” Everett tells Alex to keep waiting. “Everything will be fine, trust me.”

 

Perthena admits that while much of this ceremony will be common knowledge to the people, Alex ought to know the truth about the people she had been supporting this whole time. A few people come out onto the stage, wearing blood red robes. The scene has an eerie, uneasy feel to it.

 

They begin to tell their stories in a gradually tense scene. Their worlds, their families, their ways of life were destroyed because of violence that the Celestial Alliance had committed. Not just from the War of the Infinites, but in other uprisings, wars, and coups that the Alliance had funded. After each person speaks, the crowd chants: “May we bring back your light.” It has the feel of a Sunday Mass, rather than seeming like a cult. Kozar begins to relieve the memories once more, as Venchell makes eye contact with him. “I do apologize, Kozar Alcana, for what had been done to you. And I must apologize personally, for I could have stopped the ones responsible.” Venchell turns to Everett, who makes uneasy eye contact with him. He still tells Alex to wait. Venchell breathes and relaxes himself. He begins in a calm, collected manner, but slowly builds up to show the rage he had buried in his soul. The music begins to build to a greatly uneasy, almost horror esque movement.

 

“Hedrow, you owe us several apologies. One for stealing me from my world, telling my parents I died in a car crash, and turning me into a monster. One for having me killed for trying to resist, forcing me to escape into an unknown world. But enough about me. One for continuing to run inhuman experiments on thousands, even your own daughter, for your own glory. One for sending billions of lives to die to clean up the mess that you and Naryani made. *Alex looks at Everett, with feelings of reserved disgust, but longingly believing that he’s still changing.* One for showing us that you’d put your own life over the rest of the galaxy. That you’d run away from what you’ve done. That you’d hope to never find me again. Everett. *He is now more hardened than ever, as he begins to lift Everett into the air using his powers. Alex does not act, feeling mild anger at Venchell once again.* But that won’t be necessary. Because I when I found out you were alive, I traveled across the solar system, so I could kill you myself. And I enjoyed every minute of it. And now let me thank you.... for bringing her here.”

 

**FOR THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH: Before each ‘One’, we hear a chant of “May we bring back your light.” with flashes of what had happened in the previous sentence.

 

Alex is petrified in shock, as Venchell uses his powers to violently smash Everett’s body onto the stage, revealing him as a robotic fake. The crowd cheers in uproarious applause, as Alex looks to the stage in stunned horror. She moves to approach Venchell, but he is quickly able to subdue her. “Your own father betrayed the entire galaxy, including you. Why on Earth....or, you know what I mean.... are you mourning him? I apologize for the inconsideration, but it was the only way we could lure you here.” Alex asks what he wants with all of this.

 

Perthena then reveals their true intent. 20 politicians, many of whom were still active in the Summit of Unity, had created the Infinites and led to the deaths of billions. For their crimes against life itself, they must be eliminated, and luckily, thanks to successful executions of the few who weren’t killed in the war, only three remain. Alex is horrified when she realizes they’re going to kill Ezen and Katherine. Venchell tells him that they’re still guilty of these unforgivable crimes. Because of their work in ending the war, he at least promises that he’ll make their deaths the least painful of all. Alex tries to stop him, feeling truly guilty and upset for the suffering that he had been through, claiming that there must be a better way and expressing sympathy for him.

 

Alex and Venchell begin to duel, reaching a stand still. As Venchell speaks about how Ezen’s new “summit of unity” will descend into the same crimes of the Celestial Alliance in just a matter of time, he gives Alex the chance to join him and make the galaxy truly just. Suddenly, several people begin to see airships going through the sky on their planet. Perthena notices, getting their attention. Gun fire soon begins towards the stage from one of the ships, which Venchell blocks using his powers. People begin to flee, as Venchell begins to attack the soldiers. Perthena runs to help the others, but not before telling Alex that now is the time to decide what side of history she wants to be on.

 

Explosives are aimed at the already flimsy buildings in the city, triggering massive collapses and destruction. Perthena tries to help people caught in rubble, struggling greatly. As Venchell begins to fight the soldiers, they slowly begin to overpower him, bringing a large pillar down on him and crushing his leg, as more debris comes down on him. He is incapacitated and is in too much pain to use his powers. The soldiers begin to move out and attack other civilians. The civilians are using the guns that Venchell acquired, but they slowly prove to be overpowered quite easily, as Perthena looks on in horror to see these defeats. Perthena tries to grab some weapons, but her arm gets shot, requiring immediate treatment. She hides within a building.

 

The main trio is hiding in a bunker by the amphitheatre. Alex finally sees the destruction and becomes horrified. Much of this city was now severely damaged. “We need to do something!” Alex runs out from the bunker, but Kozar stops her. “Alex! We help the Summit, innocent people die. We help the rebels, we get accused of treason and lose EVERYTHING. We need to keep moving toward the ship.” Alex soon realizes he’s correct. In a one-shot chase, they run through the destruction and make it to their ship, soon blasting away. The soldiers discern that with the immobile rubble and faintly seeing his body, that Venchell was killed in the collapse. They too leave.

 

The chaos soon ends as ships depart the planet. Venchell opens his eyes, blasting the rubble away. He is badly beaten but still intact. He even uses his powers to help treat his wounds, remarking to himself that his degree in Biology proved quite useful after all. He moves through the rubble and becomes devastated, seeing the world he knew and loved destroyed. He begins to hold back tears as he sees bodies in the streets and buildings destroyed, desperately calling for Perthena.

 

Perthena arrives, telling Venchell that she and a few others are safe, but the event was largely devastating. Venchell remarks that he tried everything he could to prepare them for the potential attack, and he had Everett set up to make sure Alex wouldn’t recruit others. Venchell begins to cry, feeling he failed his people. After inhaling, he begins to glare at the sky. “No, I’m done crying. I was more powerful than they knew, and I won’t hold back anymore. They took everything from me, I’m taking everything from them.” Perthena becomes concerned as Venchell forms a contained ball of energy in his hand, explaining that he has to potential to make Lachino seem like a great big nothing. He throws the ball, and the scene fades away.

 

Back on the Everett’s ship, the three seem fairly solemn as they go home. They begin to chat.

 

Aera: So....where do we go from here?

Alex: I’m going to Celestial Haven. Mom and...Ezen should know where they were. I just think...we should have saved those people.

Kozar: They were terrorists. They were going to kill people you cared about.

Alex: I wanted to change their minds. This project was horrible, what they did was horrible, but more bloodshed on both sides wasn’t going to solve anything.

Kozar: Well what were we supposed to do? Make a bonfire and hope everyone goes to dance around it and sing happy songs?

Alex: Why are you so sure that running away was the only thing we could do? I would have thought of something!

Kozar: Because.... because...I couldn’t lose you too!

 

Silence, as Kozar begins to break down about his episodes about his family. “When we ended the war, my life finally returned to normal...but it was a normal where everyone I used to love and care about were no longer here. And the worst part is, thinking about all I had done in this war, I could have saved them. I just....you’re the closest thing I have to family left. I love you. And I can’t go on if I lose you too. I’m...such a pathetic coward. I’m so sorry.”

 

Kozar breaks down sobbing, as Alex hugs him. “Kozar...I’m sorry I didn’t see how you were feeling sooner. I love you too, and I care about you so much. You can be open with me.” Kozar thanks her, saying that he needed that. Alex still seems nervous, worried about what to tell Ezen. Aera sees the two and tells them to get some rest. She’ll take care of driving them back to the Haven. As the two begin to rest on one another, Kozar happily mumbles that she can’t drive well. Aera remarks that she heard that.

 

They soon arrive at the Summit of Unity headquarters, where Alex nervously walks in to find Ezen. Ezen is being hounded by other politicians, who Alex anxiously pushes gently. Ezen eventually sees her.

 

Ezen: Alex? What the hell are you doing here?

Alex: We need to talk, in private. *Throws a spark of energy at a fire alarm, setting it off and having them evacuate. * I need to ask you something. Do you know a....Gavin Venchell?

Ezen: *Freezes* How do you know that name?

Alex: He was planning the attacks. He was one of the infinite experiment subjects.

Ezen: *sighs* That isn’t an issue anymore.

Alex: What do you mean?

 

Alex finds out that the squad successfully killed Venchell, and Ezen explains that they have to make sure word doesn’t get out about this, or it could seriously harm the Summit’s standing. Ezen acknowledges that what the Alliance did was wrong, but he still must lead trillions of people and can’t let more instability crack. Alex asks if he’s truly happy with his position, but Ezen dodges the question repeatedly, saying it doesn’t matter if he’s happy or not. He is needed by countless lives, and he’s not at the liberty to push things around. Alex confronts him on this attitude for his leadership, and Ezen begins to get mad.

 

Ezen wanted to rebuild the Celestial Alliance into something better, something he had been trying to do even as a senator for countless years, but nothing has been smooth about it so far even with him in control, He acknowledges that the Summit will probably just become the Celestial Alliance all over again, despite everything he had been trying to do. He’s begun to realize that maybe not everyone can be a hero, especially if this is what they must work with. Alex tries to motivate him, but Ezen feels led to believe that no matter what he tries, some things – and some people -  just can’t be changed. He calls out his own naivete and apologizes to Alex for getting her hopes up with everything. Ezen walks away as he is called into work. “Here’s hoping I make it to the end of this term with our lives intact.”

 

Tarek comes up to her, apologizing about Ezen’s stress. Tarek thanks her for her help in dispatching the rebels but warns her that they were just a band of crazy insurgents. It’s best not to worry about them, nor any of the deluded ideas they may have tried to put in their head, in the long run, especially as part of the heroics that Alex had done in the past. Tarek pats her on the back, walking away. Kozar remarks that it’s no wonder they wanted us away from their mission, but remarks that he just needs something to take his mind of off all...this. He shifts the conversation towards the upcoming exposition as the trio try to find something positive to escape their loss of hope.

 

A montage occurs of the expo being finalized Downtown Chicago, Alex and Kozar getting ready together, and Venchell preparing a large explosive and mobilizing the remaining rebels with what they still have. Venchell vows to go to the festival alone to prevent any harm to the few remaining activists but needs them to protect what is left of their world. Perthena is silent, yet anxious, being ordered by Venchell to get everyone onto one of their ships and finding a new place to stay. Venchell has tears in his eyes, which he fervently brushes away.

 

Perthena: Venchell, what the hell are you talking about?

Venchell: You’re a strong leader who fights for what is good. Keep it that way and get everyone to safety. And don’t even dare go to the Celestial Exposition on Opening Night.

Perthena: I can’t let you do this. We built this. Together.

Venchell: If all goes well, I’ll have done what I sought out for, and I’ll finally be at peace. May you find it in your own way soon.

 

Venchell takes off on his private ship, notably with a bit of tears in his eyes. He brushes them off and makes plans to go Chicago. He orders an attendance form under the alias of ‘Leroy Brown.’

 

We soon see Alex and Kozar getting out of Beatrice’s apartment, wishing they could meet again on easier terms, as they enter the festivities. Aera tags along, trying to cheer up Alex and Kozar but failing. Eventually she just decides to stay silent.

 

The Celestial Expo begins in full swing. Everything seems joyous, with exhibitions, rides, and excitement showing every corner of the galaxy, as aliens even tour places Alex went to in Chicago before her big adventure. The exhibition boots sell several unique innovations, from lighting fast roller blades to laser vision goggles. Kozar tells Alex that he’s going to browse some of the exhibitions to see if there’s anything that he might be interested in, acknowledging that he may want to indulge in a bit of a shopping spree, while Aera tags along with him.

 

Alex runs into Ezen and Katherine, as Katherine is so happy to see Alex again. Ezen apologizes for being brash earlier but seems to imply that he was being honest. He tries not to say much about how he really felt, but he says that he truly does feel good about how things are going, and he thanks Alex and Katherine for helping him along the way. Katherine says that Alex shouldn’t just mope around, giving her daughter some money to spend on expositions and new goods. Alex thanks them, feeling so slightly better. Tarek is also there, nonchalantly asking Alex if she is enjoying the party. She gives a non-committal answer, feeling unnerved by him.

 

Suddenly, a voice appears in Alex’s head, calling her to the exposition’s main stage. People notice as she moves toward the vacant stage, Alex lighting her hands up as if prepared to fight. A force pushes her from behind. People gasp in shock as Venchell appears on the grounds, making people back away out of fear. “Looks like you’re the star of the show again. But believe me, I’ve got the showstopper.” Venchell reveals that he a built a bomb by containing his energy in a small sphere, enough to put an atomic bomb to shame. Venchell smiles as security guards come in prepared to attack. Venchell, in one fell swoop, manages to kill all of them. People continue to run away in panic, as Ezen and Kozar discover what’s going on. Katherine glares at Tarek, who told everyone that he was killed. Tarek insists that he has the situation under control calmly.

 

The bomb is set to go off in 15 minutes. Alex warns him that taking this route will do anything but give him peace. He’s taking down 3 people who may have wronged him, and millions who did nothing to him. “People like them killed millions every other day. Don’t you dare compare me to them,” Venchell says as begins the countdown on the bomb, revealing it to be part of his jacket and making it a suicide bombing. Alex tries to reason, but Venchell won’t budge. They soon realize they need to fight. Alex pushes the fight away from the festival grounds so that they can buy time to escape.

 

In their fight, Alex guides Venchell towards the less congested northern part of Chicago, moving the fight to the top of a moving L train. She tries to reach out to Kozar via headset during the fight, leading to some humorously awkward struggles. Kozar tells Alex that she’s with Katherine and Ezen. Tarek had gone to send air reinforcements to take out Venchell, but Alex warns him of the dangers in that. “Not only could I get hurt but shooting Venchell may very well set off the bomb and – oopsies – we’re all dead!” Alex says, humorously so. Katherine gets on a line with Tarek, who is revealed to be inside his personal ship.

 

Tarek: Mrs. Spark. What’s new?

Katherine: Tell your men to stand down. There’s an explosive in Venchell’s jacket that could kill us all.

Tarek: So just aim for the head. Got it.

Katherine: No. It’s too risky, stand down.

Tarek: You underestimate my guys. Venchell’s clearly doing a number on Alex, and she can use the help. Trust me on this.

 

Tarek hangs up, much to Katherine’s annoyance. She turns to Ezen and begins to speak, realizing that Tarek moved himself away from the explosion without anyone else. “So help me god, if we manage to survive this, I am going to strangle that bitch.” Kozar, looking to the exhibits, gets an idea. “I’ll find where they’re aiming, and I’ll distract them. Let’s say Venchell sent an associate.” Aera wants to tag along, but Katherine tells her to wait. She’ll need her persuasive skills to make an important change in the city’s train schedule.

 

Beatrice and Katherine decide to lead everyone into the subway for potential protection from the bomb. Ezen joins the two as Tarek stays above with his soldiers. Beatrice admits that it’s a crapshoot, but given the fighting, it’s still safer to be low than high. People move into the underground subway system (Aera humorously intimidates a Chicago Transit worker to shut down the trains so people can move through more easily) and the underground highways.

 

Back at the fight, with 10 minutes left on the bomb, Alex and Venchell fight through traffic and busy streets, jumping from car to car in incredibly dangerous maneuvers as they try to stop the other. Meanwhile, Kozar uses his laser light glasses and rollerblades, both found at the expo, to divert Tarek’s men and drones away from the two fighters. He moves with great agility and chaos, revealing that he had been drinking coffee. Tarek is furious with the distraction, and fires are Kozar, but eventually moving to look for Alex and Venchell himself. Kozar remarks about how ridiculous he looks, but Alex says that the distraction is going great. Kozar loses control and hits a post, injuring himself and catching up with the caffeine crash. He gets down to the subway, trying to find his friends among several festival goers.

 

Venchell catches up to Alex and nearly kills her, dangling her over a bridge to the Chicago River. Alex resists and manages to fight back, but not in a way that could set off the bomb in Venchell’s jacket. (i.e. using her powers too extensively) They soon reach a stalemate with 5 minutes left on the bomb. The commotion is heard above the ground, and Ezen looks up, beginning to move. Words echo in his head of Alex’s motivation, knowing how she led the way to hope at the end of the first film. He smiles righteously and goes up the subway steps. Katherine panics, asking what the hell he’s trying to do. Ezen tells her that he’s going to save their galaxy. Aera and Kozar, who managed to find her, realize what he is trying to do. Katherine tells the two to stay put, knowing that any interference could doom them all.

 

As Venchell and Alex stand to one another, Kozar also becoming burnt out from the chase, Ezen walks confidently towards the Alex and Venchell. Kozar also moves toward them. “I know why you’re doing this,” Ezen says. He picks up a microphone to his mouth, putting it through a speaker in Katherine’s phone. Ezen confesses to the crimes of the Celestial Alliance, knowing that he had brought a great deal of harm to countless lives. Kozar begins to move up and see what exactly is going on. Ezen tells Venchell that he has a great deal of respect for him and knows that he cannot make things right to him no matter what, effectively surrendering himself at the promise of sparing all other lives and pushing for true change. Katherine gasps in horror, as Aera tells her (more sincerely than the character may suggest) that she’s really sorry. He gets on his knees and puts his hands up, as Alex and Kozar also lay down their weapons. “We can make changes. There IS hope. Alex is a truly special person, and I trust her to help make this world brighter every step of the way. Please take me and let everyone else live.”

 

After a tense moment, with all eyes on what Venchell may do, Ezen closes his eyes as if to accept his fate. We then see Tarek communicating with a sniper near the top of a building, keeping an eye on what happens. Venchell admires the sincerity of his apology but knows that it’s too little too late. He prepares a blast of energy, aiming it at Ezen’s head. Suddenly, one of Tarek’s snipers fires at Venchell’s chest, just missing his head. He falls to his knees, the bomb thankfully not going off, but he is bleeding. (In a PG-13 way, of course.)

 

Time begins to slow down as we see Tarek order the sniper to fire again at Venchell. Ezen runs toward Venchell to push him downwards as the bullet flies toward them. We soon find out that the bullet moves out of the way of Ezen’s head just in time. Alex successfully used her powers to control the bullet.

 

Tarek looks on in confusion as both parties are okay, moving his ship away from Chicago in a sheepish manner, still shaken that he almost killed the President of the Summit of Unity. Alex helps up Ezen and Venchell, who finally begins to feel a sense of peace and belonging he had not felt before, until he realizes that...the bomb is still going and has a minute. Down below, people begin to embrace, fearing for the worst and knowing little time is left on the bomb.

 

Venchell begins to speak some form of password, turning off the timer. However, his voice is clearly hoarse, and with the first shot, he doesn’t have much time to live. He also asks for one favor from Ezen and Alex, motioning for Alex’s phone. He pulls up a GPS application and enters an address near the city suburbs. Alex asks if he should instead go to a hospital, but Venchell insists that this is what he wants to do. “I never thought I’d be back on this planet, but I know a few people who would want to know I was here, even if they shouldn’t see me.” Back in the subway station, Kozar emerges from the underground, surprised to find that the three are no longer there. He gets a message from Alex on his phone.

 

“We’re safe. But I need to take care of something first.”

 

Ezen’s personal ship parked outside, Venchell moves toward the door of the address, revealed to be a house. He sighs out of nervousness, about to knock on the door, revealed to be the Venchell home by the mailbox. He stops himself, instead deciding to put a letter into the family mail slot with the little energy he has left. He collapses onto the sidewalk in front of the house, dying. Alex comes up to him, saying to him, “May we bring back your light.”

 

BREAKING NEWS

 

News reports unfurl about the expose launched by Ezen Baklattan, bringing approval ratings for the Summit to a new low. Moreover, with his political and social expertise, he has been working with Katherine Spark to build a new organizational outreach center to continue rebuilding the galaxy and help victims of injustice, inequality, and violence across all corners of their world. While accused of bailing on the summit, others believe that he is putting his money where his mouth is.

 

Ezen will not be running for re-election of the Summit of Unity’s presidency, but Beatrice Powell may step in to run against Tarek, whose rogue actions at the expo were effectively covered up. Powell promises to build support for Ezen’s new organization and usher in a new era of accountability and justice, on top of legislation that Baklattan plans to push for in his final months in office. As they watch everything, Ezen decides to build the headquarters for his organization, to be named Homeward, in Chicago, nonchalantly admitting that he purchased the Hancock tower as office space for the headquarters.

 

 As Alex, Katherine, Kozar, Ezen, and Aera tour the facility, we see Perthena arrive on Earth, along with a few revolutionaries. She had heard about Venchell’s death, but given what he ultimately believed in, he’d probably want her to help them out. Ezen agrees to give them work here but won’t pay them too much. “I’m the one thing keeping you from prison, so I believe this is a fair trade.” Perthena shrugs, admitting that this is reasonable, considering that she’d have easily gotten a life sentence in most other cases. He then asks Alex and Kozar to serve as co-directors of galactic outreach, admitting that he wanted to do this to bring his family closer together and let them all work under one roof. Plus, with Beatrice still in the Summit, she can get them some wiggle room and help get a few things out of it. Still, it is clear that Ezen is back to being hopeful and empowered, knowing the best way to enrich his leadership.

 

Alex begins to smile but thinks about Everett again. “I’m not sure Everett would have ever done anything like this. I’m not even sure who he really was. But I know one thing is for sure...I wouldn’t want to be part of a better family.” Everyone hugs, except for Kozar. Katherine speaks to him, telling him that no matter what, he should feel like part of their family too. Kozar, looking to Alex and Aera, smiles and joins the hug. Kozar thanks everyone, and Alex kisses him.

 

Alex then asks Kozar if he wants to see something. Kozar says absolutely. They run towards the rest of the city, as Katherine smiles. As we see Alex using her powers to guide Kozar through the city, we soon move to sunset, as the Venchells, a married couple and a college-age daughter, find the letter on the ground. They read it over an emotional scene. The letter is set to efforts being done to rebuild several different worlds and slowly create newfound global justice.

 

 

 

(Instrumental from 0:00 to 0:47)

 

Spoiler

 

Hey guys,

 

Sometimes, to help myself get into the swing of things, I like to think about how I got to where I am today. If nothing else, it reminds me what I’m fighting for. And I fought for you. I hate to break the bad news, but you reading this letter likely means that I am gone from this universe, but please don’t be heartbroken. I have journeyed across the stars and done things I could only dream of.

 

I’ve made some truly big mistakes, as you may hear about in the coming days, but I sought a truly just world and one where justice, hope, and empathy thrived. And I did things that seemed to promote just that at the time, but I was so wrong. I ask forgiveness for all the wrongs I had done, and I ask you to keep fighting for what we believed in as a family.

 

Our world is much bigger than we thought, and sometimes the people we work with and the people we fight for don’t have the best intentions for us. But I maintain this. We cannot live without hope, and we must strive to make tomorrow better than yesterday, no matter how bleak things are, and we must find our own way of making it so.

 

Was the above stuff cheesy? Perhaps, but I wrote this letter believing that the days I sought would finally come, and I didn’t really have the time to give it another draft. In giving it to you, I feel at peace once more. I feel that I am finally home.

 

Sincerely,

Gavin Venchell

 

 

 

 

As the letter finishes, the daughter looks out a window and sees several airships flying over the sky from different worlds. She smiles.

 

(0:47) END CREDITS (The credits explore several 3D models of the words in the movie, and for the actors, the characters appear as silhouettes created by blasts of energy.)

 

Mid Credits Scene: We see a prison cell deep underneath Celestial Haven. Someone is reading that Ezen Baklattan and Katherine Spark are officially engaged, and they check on the cell of Agorava Naryani. She is drawing a very large-scale figure on several pieces of paper. She keeps muttering to herself as a warden asks what she is doing. Naryani, now somewhat hysterical, insists that the creators are coming back soon. The people who gave her divine inspiration. “I will be redeemed.”

 

Post Credits Scene: Aera goes to a restaurant, deciding to once and for all meet up with her parents in person and fix the tech problem in person. Her parents show up, proving to be even more bizarre and erratic than Aera. They are so proud of their baby girl saving the world twice, as Aera takes on work with Homeward. However, they begin to have more problems with their technical devices, as Aera helps them effortlessly. However, Aera’s dad tells her to wait as they drink this exotic new Earth drink called coffee. Aera turns to the camera and utters: “Shit.”

 

[Hiccup23]

Firebringer

Date- August 2nd

Genre- Musical

Rating- PG-13

Theaters- 3,338 theaters

Budget- 35 million

Running Time- 99 minutes or 1 hour and 39 minutes

Studio- O$corp Pictures

Director- Michael Gracey

Zazzalil- Samantha Barks

Jemilla- Rihanna

Keeri- Camila Mendes

Emberly- Rebel WIlson

Molag- Whoopi Goldberg

Grunt- Trevor Jackson

Schwoopsie- Lady Gaga

Ducker- Harry Styles

Tiblyn- Ashleigh Murray

Smelly-Balls- Garrett Clayton

Chorn- Zac Efron

 

Plot: Coming Soon!

[Xillix]

@Hiccup23 FYI the rules say movies that weren't pre-loaded aren't supposed to be posted til they're finished.

[Hiccup23]

7 minutes ago, Xillix said:

@Hiccup23 FYI the rules say movies that weren't pre-loaded aren't supposed to be posted til they're finished.

 

Firebringer was pre-loaded through in the Advanced Schedule

[Xillix]

Just now, Hiccup23 said:

 

Firebringer was pre-loaded through in the Advanced Schedule

Not if it wasn't one of the tentpoles you asked to be in the post already  

[Hiccup23]

1 minute ago, Xillix said:

Not if it wasn't one of the tentpoles you asked to be in the post already  

My bad

[4815162342]

Call of Duty

 

Genre: Action/War/Thriller

Cast: Kit Harrington (John “Soap” MacTavish), Sean Bean (Captain Price), Trevante Rhodes (Paul Jackson), Luke Evans (Gaz), Stellan Skarsgård (Imran Zakhaev), Joe Manganiello (Vasquez), Costa Ronin (Vladimir Makarov), Til Schweiger (Nikolai), Columbus Short (Griggs), Matthias Schoenaerts (Kamarov), Faran Tahir (Khaled Al-Asad)

Directed By: Paul Greengrass

Release Date: June 28, Year 3

Theater Count: 3786

Budget: $125 million

Running Time: 142 Minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for scenes of intense war violence, brief strong language, and disturbing images

 

Plot Summary: 2022. Russia is experiencing a sharp political divide between the current regime and the Ultranationalist Party, which wants to return to a Soviet-style oligarchy with hardline views towards the West.

 

Spoiler

 

(All dialogue in this scene is in Russian). In a bunker in the Ural Mountains, three men meet: Imran Zakhaev (Skarsgård), his son Victor, and his second-in-command Vladimir Makarov (Ronin). The three discuss Zakhaev’s plans to stage a military coup. Makarov points out that the West will never sit by to allow the coup to happen, so they agree on a plan to distract the West’s attention. They will secretly support a military takeover of Iraq by Shiite hardliners led by Khaled Al-Asad, who has ties to Iran. The U.S. and its allies will never allow a militaristic Iran-Iraq coalition to exist in the Persian Gulf so soon after the U.S. withdrew most of its forces from the region, so they will have to attack to “secure” the region. “ISIS got the headlines, but Iran is the true boogyman of their nightmares” Zakhaev says. Once the U.S. and its allies mobilize towards the Middle East, the coup can begin.

 

The film shifts to Central England, where Sgt. John “Soap” MacTavish (Harrington) (Soap being his callsign) reports for duty as a new member of Bravo Team, a black ops division of the British SAS. Bravo Team is led by Captain Price (Bean), whose #2 man is Gaz (Evans). Price and Gaz lead the team in jesting with Soap, who as the new guy has to be the brunt of the team’s humor until he proves himself. Price tells him that he’s just in time for the team’s next mission, which will be to intercept a Russian cargo ship that is suspected of carrying illegal materials for terrorist groups. We see a short scene showing Soap integrating into the unit’s social dynamics.

 

The scene shifts to a U.S. military forward operations base in Qatar, in the Middle East. There we’re introduced to a group of Army Rangers, including Sgt. Paul Jackson (Rhodes) and the members of his platoon, including the commanding officer Lt. Vasquez (Manganiello) and Griggs (Short). We get a couple short scenes showing the characters interacting and the close-knit camaraderie of the platoon. All of them are confident their tour in Qatar will be quiet.

 

We then see the SAS assault on the Russian cargo ship, using helicopters to quickly land Bravo Team, which splits into two groups. Soap is with Price’s group and they strike for the main cargo hold, while Gaz leads the other group to take control of the ship’s operations center. Resistance is light and soon Price’s group reaches the main cargo hold. After some searching Soap finds the cargo container they’re looking for and the team opens it up to reveal a nuclear warhead. The team is shocked and Price comments that if someone is slipping loose nukes from Russia, then that’s where they’ll need to go to get answers. Meanwhile Gaz is downloading intelligence from the ship’s computers and detects on its radar that Russian fighter jets are approaching. As Price’s team begins to leave the cargo hold one of the jets fires a missile that strikes the cargo ship and the explosion causes it to begin to capsize and sink. Bravo Team manages to evacuate the ship barely in time, with Soap and Price having to leap several feet in the air to a waiting helicopter as the ship crumples beneath them. As the helicopter flies off, Price comments that Soap picked the wrong week to join the team.

 

(Dialogue here is in Arabic unless mentioned otherwise). The film shifts to Baghdad, Iraq, where a military coup is underway. We see lots of tanks and military trucks roaming the streets, people being rounded up, some of them then being shot, and general chaos. At the presidential palace, Khaled Al-Asad (Tahir), the coup leader, gives a speech before television cameras about how he will lead Iraq into a new era with its strategic partnership with Iran and they will remake the Middle East. We also see Makarov in the back looking on. After the short speech Al-Asad takes Makarov to an office and they talk. He is told by Makarov that he will continue to receive arms and funding for his coup, since “the Americans will be coming.” Makarov also says that his people have lost contact with a freighter of theirs in the Pacific, but the other nuclear warhead is traveling overland through Central Asia and will arrive soon. Al-Asad shows bravado in claiming his people will defeat any attack. He then takes Makarov to the palace courtyard where the previous president, Fulani, is tied to a post in front of television cameras. Al-Asad goes before the cameras, says a few words, and then executes Fulani. As Al-Asad postures for the cameras, Makarov pulls out a satellite phone and makes a call (in Russian). He tells the recipient that now the West will have to respond.

 

At the Marine base in Qatar, Jackson’s platoon watches the news report of the coup in Iraq in stunned silence. When the report ends there is a lot of nervous chatter, since everyone thinks that now they’re going to be a part of an invasion force. Vasquez says that everyone needs to get up to speed on all of their skills and all planned leaves are cancelled until further notice. Later, Jackson, Griggs, and a couple others talk about the suspected military response and we learn some more character details about them. Jackson is the only one who has seen combat and he assures the others that if they keep cool under pressure and look out for their squadmates they’ll pull through.

 

Back at Bravo Team’s base in England, the team is interested by the news about the coup in Iraq. However, Price tells them that they have their own missions to concern them. He says that civil unrest in Russia is reaching a boiling point and some outright rebellions have broken out, but between Russia’s inherent secrecy and the media attention on Iraq, no one is really paying attention. He says that a Russian informant, Nikolai, has some important information for them but has gone missing in the middle of one of the rebellion zones. Bravo Team will extract him. Price then coolly departs.

 

After the meeting, Soap seeks out Gaz and talks to him about Price and Soap’s standing in the group. Gaz assures Soap that he proved himself in the cargo ship raid and he’s one of them now. Gaz also mentions that Price has been through more than several normal soldiers combined, so it’s difficult for him to fraternize with his men.

 

The scene returns to Qatar and we briefly see the U.S. military gearing up for an invasion of Iraq, with hundreds of planes, helicopters, and transports buzzing around with a naval fleet offshore. Vasquez is in a meeting with other officers of his regiment and learns that a preliminary strike will begin within 24 hours to seize Basra on the coast as a staging area for the push into Baghdad.

 

(This scene is in Russian) Somewhere Central Asia, Zakhaev and his son Victor are monitoring news reports and other intelligence on the Iraq situation. Zakhaev is very pleased, commenting that the world is reacting even more ferociously than anticipated. He also says that Makarov did well in setting up the deal with Al-Asad. Victor feels like he is underutilized but Zakhaev assures him that he still has much to learn, but his day will soon come.

 

Several hours later, Bravo Team is dropped by helicopter into an area of Central Russia with military conflict between Ultranationalist rebels and the Russian government. The team links up with a platoon of Russian Loyalists led by Kamarov (Schoenaerts), and some humorous dialogue between him, Price, and Gaz indicates they’ve been on missions together before. Kamarov tells the team about a strong Ultranationalist presence in the nearby villages and says that if their informant is in one of them he is either deep in hiding or is a prisoner. After Price looks over a map of the area he tells Soap and a couple other team members to go with Kamarov and most of his platoon while the rest go under Price’s command via a different route. The two groups go their separate ways as the sound of artillery fire rumbles louder and louder in the distance. As they walk, Kamarov chats up Soap and says that Soap couldn’t have a better leader to serve under than Price. Soap tries to learn more details about Price but Kamarov says it’s probably better if it comes from Price himself since he’s a hard nut to open up.

 

In the Persian Gulf we join Jackson in a helicopter with his squad, which includes Griggs. A panoramic camera shot shows the helicopter is one of over a dozen flying over a flotilla of landing ship transports heading towards Basra. As the helicopters fly in, we see fighter jets zoom over Basra and fire missiles or drop bombs at targets, causing explosions. Jackson tells his squad that their target is a television station that controls the media for the southern region of Iraq. We see several minutes of intense action with the helicopter assault coming amidst antiaircraft fire and other resistance and Vasquez’s platoon including Jackson’s squad pushing through the battered streets to the television station. They break in and after some more fighting are able to disable the media signal for southern Iraq. Casualties are light, especially compared to the heaps of dead resistance fighters, and Griggs comments that with opposition like this they’ll be in Baghdad within a week. Jackson is more cautious about their estimates and says the fight’s only just begun and Al-Asad could have a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

 

(This scene is in Arabic) Cue a scene change to a bunker where Al-Asad is monitoring Western news reports of the invasion, which he laments are more reliable than his army’s own intelligence. A subordinate says that the Americans now control Basra and are marshaling several divisions to push towards Baghdad. Al-Asad says that his forces will martyr themselves to slow the infidel advance, and their sacrifice won’t be in vain. He goes to another part of the bunker where Makarov is waiting. Al-Asad loses the façade of confidence and says the Americans are crushing his forces and he needs an escape route. Makarov tells him that his people are preparing a safehouse for Al-Asad, but they cannot leave for there until the right moment.

 

We return to Central Russia with Bravo Team and Kamarov’s platoon ready to take back a village seized by Ultranationalists. Soap is detailed as a sniper to cover the assault’s initial strike along with a couple others. They fire from long range, gunning down a number of Ultranationalist militiamen as Price, Gaz, and Kamarov lead a multi-prong assault. Initial resistance is sharp but soon crumbles and Soap is called over the radio to rejoin the group. As he rushes down towards the village, Price and Gaz lead a couple men into a farmhouse where they suspect Nikolai is being held. After clearing some rooms they find Nikolai (Til Schweiger) being held prisoner with a gun to his head. Price and Gaz feign surrender but then use quick moves to shoot the guards before they can harm Nikolai. Nikolai wraps both Gaz and Price in a big bear hug and thanks them for the assistance. Soap and Kamarov then arrive. Nikolai exchanges a presumably vulgar greeting with Kamarov in Russian and the two laugh. He then introduces himself to Soap and says that any man working for Price is a friend of his. Kamarov says that with Nikolai rescued he’ll take his platoon to the west to rejoin with his regiment. After Kamarov leaves Price tells Nikolai that because he came a long way to save his ass, he better have some good information. Nikolai smiles and says that since it’s a long trip back to civilization there’s time for him to talk.

 

Back in Iraq, Vasquez’s platoon is encamped at an airstrip at the outskirts of Basra. The platoon is full of chitchat about how easy the initial invasion has gone. Vasquez is very confident of further success and says that the platoon will be moving out the following morning to escort an armored column push north along the Tigris River as the coalition force’s east flank. Later Jackson goes to talk with Vasquez about the platoon’s condition. Jackson reports that the men are in good spirits, but seems troubled. Vasquez encourages him to express his feelings and Jackson says he isn’t sure if this massive coalition invasion done on the spur of the moment feels right to him. Vasquez understands his feelings but says that they’re just soldiers; the big picture is for the politicians. The two talk a little more and Vasquez tells Jackson to keep his men sharp since the coalition’s success has come almost too easy.

 

We return to Bravo Team in a large helicopter flying out of the region. Price is talking with Nikolai about his information. Nikolai says that he’s learned that the recent events in the Middle East have been instigated by unknown parties in the Ultranationalist camp. The goal is clearly to distract the West from events in Russia. Price mentions the nuke his team found on the cargo ship and Nikolai says that he’s heard that at least one other nuclear warhead was stolen from deep storage and may be headed towards Iraq, but he doesn’t know the details. Meanwhile, Gaz tells Soap he did well in the mission and the two chat a bit, revealing some minor info about their personal lives. Gaz makes a couple jests and says that by the way Price looks from Nikolai’s info they’ll be heading right back into the firestorm soon.

 

At that moment the helicopter banks hard to avoid an anti-air missile, but the explosion damages it enough to force it down in a rough landing. The pilots are killed but everyone else survives, though a couple team members have broken bones. Price says that the radio is dead and they have no way to contact headquarters to relay Nikolai’s info. Their only option is to hike until they can find a way to contact superiors, while Ultranationalist men likely pursue them.

 

The scene changes to Iraq, where Vasquez’s platoon is being used to escort a pair of tanks through a dusty small town to the main highway on the way to Baghdad. Vasquez tells Jackson and the others that once they clear the route the whole division will have a straight line to send their tanks zooming to Baghdad. The troops chatter about the success of the invasion so far and Griggs goes so far as to boast that in a few days he’ll be sleeping in the fancy beds of Al-Asad’s palace. Jackson tells them all to calm down and stay focused for hostiles. The forward men in the platoon aren’t as careful however and miss a squad of enemies setting up on rooftops who then fire two RPGs down at the first tank, which explodes and takes out a few members of the platoon as well. As the other men in the platoon take cover, the other tank backs up and demolishes a couple buildings with its cannon. A close-quarters street battle ensues with Vasquez’s platoon pushing through the small town, clearing buildings street by street so the other tank can safely advance. Jackson leads the way, inspiring the men with heroics. They soon clear the way and the tank enters the main highway and radios the success in. Helicopters come to pick up Vasquez’s platoon and Jackson hears that with the highway now accessed the final push to Baghdad is about to begin.

 

We return to Bravo Team hiking through hilly territory. Everyone is quiet at first until Price signals for them all to stop and says they’re being followed. Everyone gets low to the ground and Price goes over to Soap and has him set up a sniper rifle. Price acts as a spotter and through infrared binoculars (it’s night) points out several men at least a few hundred yards to their rear taking up position. With Price calmly guiding him, Soap is able to snipe three of the trackers before the others quickly flee. Price praises Soap and says they all need to move since their trackers will now be calling in support.

 

After a little more hiking Bravo Team arrives at a deserted hamlet and they check the few houses for power and communication tools. They find enough to jury-rig a communications array and Price is able to get in touch with superiors and order an extraction. The team sets up defenses and soon a company of Ultranationalist soldiers arrive to attack. We get a tense battle scene as Bravo Team and Nikolai fend off the attackers, though a couple men are killed and Gaz receives a minor wound. Then a series of explosions tear through the Ultranationalists. It’s backup in the form of an AC-130 gunship, which quickly obliterates the enemy. The helicopters arrive and load up the survivors and deceased. Gaz makes a jest about needing a vacation but Price tells him with Nikolai’s info it looks like he won’t get. Unfortunately, they don’t have a long-range secure channel on the helicopter so it’ll still be some hours before they reach a safe house that has those capabilities.

 

Back in Iraq, it is now just before dawn and we see the coalition soldiers preparing for the main assault into Baghdad, which is exposed. There’s a lot of nervous chatter among the troops, who are eager to bring down yet another villain. Jackson makes a phone call to family back home, saying that he’s nervous and scared but ready to do what it takes to keep his men alive.

 

(All dialogue here is in Arabic unless otherwise state) In Baghdad, Al-Asad is evacuating his palace, in a nervous state. Makarov and some men are overseeing things and Makarov tells Al-Asad that they’re first going incognito to a safehouse about 20 miles north, and from there arrangements will be made for further travel. Makarov then makes a secure call and says in Russian that it is almost time and that the day has come for the West to begin understanding the price of arrogance. After that call, we see a truck pull up to the palace and men unload a large lead box and bring it inside.

 

The U.S. military and its allies mobilize for the strike, with hundreds of armored vehicles pushing north into the city as dozens of helicopters buzz overhead carrying strike teams. Vasquez’s platoon is split into two helicopters. Jackson and Griggs man the light anti-armor cannons on their helicopter and help provide cover fire against enemy tanks and soldiers. They hear over the radio that the coalition forces are making great progress in their push towards Al-Asad’s palace. They then get instructions to rescue a stranded recon squad near the city center. Vasquez’s platoon lands in a small square near the squad’s location but soon comes under heavy fire from local militia. After a brief shootout the militia retreats. Vasquez gives orders to find the trapped squad and is then suddenly killed by a sniper. A helicopter rocket blows up the building where the sniper was and Jackson is forced to take command of the platoon. He has his men move out.

 

We cut to a helicopter assault by Navy SEALs near Al-Asad’s palace. They break through the defenses and enter the palace, looking for Al-Asad. They find no trace of him, but instead the lead box, which they open to find an armed nuclear warhead. The SEAL leader radios “We have a big problem.”

 

Jackson’s men soon reach the trapped squad’s location and after a short firefight blast their way back to the evacuation point where a helicopter waits. As the helicopter takes off they hear a general warning to the coalition forces that there is a confirmed nuclear threat in the city and NEST teams are being sent to disarm the bomb. However, all forces are being ordered to retreat at least 10 miles from the city center. Jackson gives the order to withdraw but then a supporting attack helicopter is hit by a missile and crashes in the streets, its pilot still alive. Everyone in the helicopter gives Jackson the same look, so Jackson decides to save the pilot and informs his superiors of the decision, saying his men accept the risk.

 

We then see a helicopter landing at Al-Asad’s palace, with several people in radiation suits getting out with special gear. They enter the palace and are directed to the nuke, which they begin to examine.

 

Jackson and the men with him fight their way to the downed helicopter and he pulls the female pilot out of the wreckage. She’s alive but hurt fairly badly. Jackson carries the woman over his shoulder as he and his men then retreat to their helicopter, which takes off and again starts to fly south, delayed by several minutes.

 

The scene changes to the safe house north of Baghdad, with Makarov and Al-Asad standing on a hill. They receive news that the Americans have discovered the bomb and are working to disarm it. Makarov laughs and says to Al-Asad in Arabic “And now we will witness the beginning of the West’s failure” before taking out a cell phone and making a call.

 

In Al-Asad’s palace, the NEST team examining the nuke thinks they have disarmed it, but then realize that there is a secondary trigger connected to a phone. Before they can do anything, that phone receives a call.

 

On Jackson’s helicopter, everyone is listening to a report that NEST teams are disarming the bomb when a bright flash goes off in the city center. The nuke has exploded. We see the blast wave demolishing the city and knocking helicopters out of the sky. The wave hits Jackson’s helicopter and knocks it out of control, eventually crashing in the streets with a cut to black.

 

We then see a few short clips of news reports on the nuclear explosion, the news anchors all saying that it appears Al-Asad killed himself to take down over thousands of NATO soldiers along with tens of thousands of civilians at least. It is revealed that Zakhaev is watching the reports with a smile. He gets a phone call and has a conversation in Russian with Makarov. Makarov says that he is now moving Al-Asad to a safehouse where he will wait things out, and then he (Makarov) will go on to other tasks. Zakhaev thanks him for delivering the first blow and says their work is just beginning. Zakhaev then goes to another portion of his compound and finds Victor. Zakhaev tells Victor in Russian that a new day is now dawning for Russia with the eyes of the world focused elsewhere.

 

The film jumps to Hamburg, Germany, where Bravo Team and Nikolai are also watching news reports. Everyone is shaken by the news. Gaz says it is a shame Al-Asad blew himself up since he’d love to pay him back for what he just did. Nikolai says that Al-Asad is too cowardly to take his life and likely fled. When Soap says that there’s a whole world he could be hiding in, Nikolai chuckles and says that since the Ultranationalists used Al-Asad, they probably have him stashed in a safe house in the general region. Nikolai says he has an idea where that might be. Price tells him to spit it out and tells Gaz to “get on the horn, Command is going to want to know about this.”

 

Bravo Team is dropped into the mountains of Azerbaijan, where the Ultranationalists are holding Al-Asad. Nikolai gives them directions to the village of the known safehouse and then wishes them luck before departing. The team hikes over a mountain and takes up position above the village, which has a number of Ultranationalist guards. Soap asks what the plan is once they find Al-Asad and Price says that he’s just a pawn for the Ultranationalists and would know who their secret leader is. Once they find him, they’ll get that name by any means necessary.

 

After using explosives in one building to cause a distraction, Bravo Team fights its way through the village. Al-Asad gets frightened by the sound of gunfire. Unfortunately for him, Bravo Team reaches the safehouse soon after and breaks in, killing the guards and capturing Al-Asad. Price tells Soap to call it in to Command that they got the target and Gaz says he should do it in another room. Outside Soap asks what Price is going to do and the answer is the sound of Al-Asad screaming from the other room.

 

(All dialogue is in Russian) Somewhere in Russia, Zakhaev receives word that Al-Asad’s safehouse has been attacked. Concerned, he gives an order for an assault on the village to kill everyone in it so Al-Asad can’t spill secrets.

 

Back at the safehouse, Price has beaten Al-Asad badly and the enemy finally gives in to the questioning and says that he was being helped by Imran Zakhaev, who is pulling the strings. Price shakes his head and then executes Al-Asad. Gaz and Soap are shocked by this, Soap because of the execution, Gaz because Price didn’t wait to get more info. Price tells Soap that Al-Asad wouldn’t have gotten a fair trial anyways and tells Gaz that the name “Imran Zakhaev” is all they need. Price briefly explains that Zakhaev is a former Communist warmonger who has been working to restore a quasi-Soviet Union. Zakhaev disappeared after Price and some others broke up a deal by Zakhaev a couple decades back to buy nuclear material on the black market and was thought dead. Now it seems he is the true villain.

 

Soap is still a bit shaken by Price’s actions and goes to be alone. Price catches up with him and the two have a good, warm talk about the situation that alleviates some of Soap’s concerns about the job Meanwhile Gaz calls in an extraction and is told that one will arrive at dawn, but a horde of Ultranationalists will get to the village first.

 

Shortly before dawn, the Ultranationalists attack, using artillery to flatten the village. The extraction zone is across town so Soap, Price, Gaz, and the others have to fight their way across it, dodging enemy patrols and artillery explosions. They get pinned down but rescue arrives with extraction helicopters that blow up enemy positions.

 

Zakhaev summons Victor and tells him he needs to run an important courier mission. Victor asks why and Zakhaev says that Victor wants more responsibility and this mission is the first step to that.

 

The American helicopters land at a Russian Loyalist military base where everyone meets Kamarov again. Kamarov says that Imran Zakhaev is like a ghost, never appearing on the grid. Their only link to him is his son Victor, who will presumably have a lot of information to share about Zakhaev’s plans. Price says that the plan then is to capture Victor and get information. At the very least, capturing Victor will flush Zakhaev into the open.

 

The plan to capture Victor is underway, with information about his whereabouts provided by Nikolai. With help from Kamarov, Price sets up an ambush for the small convoy Victor is traveling in. Victor is using the convoy for his courier mission and is confident about being more powerful in the Ultranationalists. The ambush is sprung and several vehicles are blown up. Victor is initially able to get out of his car and flee, but he is soon cornered in a dilapidated housing project. Victor, desperate, decides to kill himself instead of being captured. As Price, Soap, Gaz, and Griggs stand over Victor’s body, Gaz dryly comments “I guess we have Zakhaev’s attention now.”

 

(This scene is in Russian) The scene returns to Zakhaev’s hidden compound with the Ultranationalist leader brooding over his son’s death. Makarov enters and tries to persuade Zakhaev not to go through with his plan since he is acting on pure emotion. Zakhaev asks Makarov if he’d act any different if it’d been his son killed and Makarov admits he wouldn’t. Zakhaev tells Makarov that he was like a second son to him and he has done so much in furthering the cause, and it will fall to him to lead the future if Zakhaev falls in this plan. Makarov understands and says that if Zakhaev goes through with this, “the West will never forgive our country.” Zakhaev replies that the feelings of petty men aren’t his concern.

 

Some hours later, the allies are recuperating at a Loyalist base when they receive word that Ultranationalist forces have just taken over a nuclear missile facility. This news shocks everyone since while they expected a response from Zakhaev; this one seems to be over-the-top. Shortly after they get this news they receive word that Zakhaev sent a message to Moscow that unless the American and British forces leave the country and other political demands are met, he will launch nuclear missiles against the West. Price, analyzing the situation, says that Zakhaev will be at or near the missile facility since this is a purely personal act by him. With a go-ahead from Command, Price quickly plans out with Gaz a way to retake the facility and stop Zakhaev.

 

The plan is for a team to paratroop to the north and knock out the main power to the missile facility, while a force of Loyalists led by Kamarov attack the perimeter as a distraction. Soap meanwhile goes to think alone and is joined by Price, who gives him a cigar. The two smoke and share some personal stories and Price says the unit is his family and that he’s proud to have someone like Soap now be a part of it.

 

The final mission begins with the attack team parachuting out of a big plane. They group up and push towards a large series of power transformers that powers the main part of the base. The transformers are guarded but the allies soon take the enemies out and set up explosives. They blow the transformers and see most of the power go out in the base. Kamarov then radios that his force is going to attack the main entrance now to distract the Ultranationalists from Price’s team sneaking in the back.

 

(This scene is in Russian) Inside, Zakhaev is briefly annoyed by the power loss but is told that there are backup internal power generators that’ll be on in a moment. When asked what to do Zakhaev says that their enemies will eventually take this place back, so they will do their best to make them pay for their arrogance.

 

Price’s team loops around to a back way, hearing gunfire and explosions in the distance, but then as they near the base they see that some power has been restored and two ICBMs are launched. Zakhaev watches the launch on a video screen and then tells a guard in Russian to guard the place to the last man and departs to an exit. Meanwhile Price curses and says their only hope is to get inside the base and disarm the controls before the missiles hit. As they get closer command informs them that the missiles are on a path to hit the US Eastern Seaboard in about 30 minutes.

 

Price organizes his men into a swift attack, taking out perimeter guardposts with rockets and grenades. They then quickly push into the main area of the missile facility and realize that the only quick way in is to enter via the open silos of the missiles just launched. They rappel down the silos and enter the underground part of the facility and split up. Gaz leads some men to a security control center where they fend off Ultranationalist guards and unseal security doors for the others to pass through. Price and Soap lead the other group through the base, fighting in close-quarters, until they reach the missile command center. Amidst heavy gunfire, Soap is able to reach the command console and abort the missiles in flight within minutes of their reaching their targets.

 

Once they confirm the missiles have self-destructed in mid-flight with no nuke explosion, Price and Soap get in touch with Gaz to organize an escape, since outside cameras show Zakhaev returning in a rage with many more Ultranationalists and Kamarov has radioed in that his men have had to pull back. Price and Soap lead the survivors of their group to reunite with Gaz in a garage and they commandeer some trucks to escape down an access road. They are pursued by several Ultranationalist trucks and jeeps but they are able to destroy many of them with their weapons. However, an enemy helicopter then appears and blows up a bridge just before they cross it, causing their trucks to crash to avoid going over the edge. Everyone gets out as Ultranationalist forces show up to attack. A rocket blows up an oil tanker and the explosion incapacitates most of the surviving allies. Griggs pulls Soap back to a safer position as Soap sees Zakhaev and some guards get out of a jeep. Griggs continues to fight on but is killed by Ultranationalist forces. Soap then sees Gaz trying to crawl to safety but is instead executed by Zakhaev. Before Zakhaev can move towards Soap a Loyalist helicopter arrives to attack the Ultranationalists. This allows a badly wounded Price time to slide Soap his pistol and Soap is able to use it to kill Zakhaev and his bodyguards before Zakhaev can react. Soap then collapses as more Russian Loyalists arrive to aid the surviving allies. Kamarov appears and assures Soap that he’ll be all right. Soap looks to see a medic is performing CPR on Price as Soap is lifted up into a medevac helicopter. The scene fades to black.

 

Soap wakes up in a Russian military hospital to find Nikolai and Kamarov by his bed. He asks about Price and Nikolai says that Price didn’t make it. Soap sighs and says that at least Zakhaev is gone. Kamarov says that the Ultranationalists are reeling now that their leader is gone and there’s hope for Russia. The three start to reminisce about Price, Gaz, and the other fallen men as the camera pulls away.

 

The scene changes to a dark room as Makarov watches news reports about Zakhaev’s death and the apparent defeat for the Ultranationalists. Makarov, smoking a cigarette, says to himself in Russian “And now they will learn what happens when you make a martyr.” He picks up a remote and turns off the television, the screen cutting to black when he does so. The credits roll.

 

 

Spoiler

 

*AFTER CREDITS SCENE BELOW*

 

Soap is now recuperating in a NATO hospital in Germany when a military man approaches and identifies himself as General Shepard (William Hurt). Shepard asks how Soap is doing and then says that the world’s still a dangerous place and he’s putting together a special team to deal with situations a regular military can’t, so they can stop other men like Al-Asad and Zakhaev before they even get close to causing trouble for the world. After a little thought, Soap says “I’m in.”

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2018 by 4815162342

[Xillix]

Just now, Hiccup23 said:

My bad

Just lemme know when it's done tho and I'll plop it in the first post!

[4815162342]

Wolves of the Deep

Genre: War/Liam Neeson

Directed by: Roger Donaldson

Cast: Liam Neeson (Captain Curtis), unknowns

Release Date: December 20, Year 3

Theater Count: 3199 Theaters

Budget: $75 million

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for war violence, disturbing images, and brief strong language

Running Time: 106 minutes

 

Plot Summary: Setting is Spring, 1942.

 

World War 2 has entered its next major phase: The Battle for the Atlantic. As the United States continues to gear up for war, massive convoys of men, materials, and supplies cross the Atlantic to supply Britain. To stop them, the Germans have unleashed hordes of dreaded U-Boats. While the U.S. Navy slowly gets ready to play its part, the immediate responsibility for safeguarding the convoys falls onto the British Navy.Captain Curtis (Neeson) is the commander of the British submarine HMS Barracuda and it is his job to intercept German U-boats and surface warships aiming to attack convoys.

 

The first 15 minutes or so of the film introduce us to him, his crew, and the issues of life onboard a WW2 submarine, with heavily cramped space, mechanical problems that can cause instant doom if not corrected, etc. Curtis is a hard taskmaster but is admired and respected by his crew. He gets orders to go to off the coast of the Azores where a German wolfpack (group of U-boats) is believed to be assembling and to help take down as many as he can. This begins the first mission of the film for the Barracuda and after some scenes detailing the travel and Curtis making plans they arrive at their destination and with their sonar find that four U-boats have gathered.

 

Curtis makes plans for a surprise attack and using cunning has the Barrcuda fire torpedoes that sink 2 of the U-boats. Barracuda then plays hide and seek with the other 2 and after some tense moments of avoiding detection Curtis launches another attack that disables one of the U-boats and forces the other to hightail it, though not before it barely misses the Barracuda in a torpedo attack. The disabled U-boat goes to the surface and Curtis has the Barracuda surface and orders his men to capture the German sub. After some initial gunfire the Germans surrender and Curtis has his men take all of the important war documents.

 

After getting them decoded and translated, Curtis realizes that the German Navy is planning a massive strike from France to destroy a huge troop convoy carrying over 10,000 US soldiers and thousands of tons of important war supplies. Curtis radios the information to his superiors and then sets the Barracuda north to try and help stop the German attack before it starts. He also learns that the German submarine that got away is the Schlange, meaning Serpent.

 

We then see a handful of scenes showing the camraderie of the crew, some more sub life, and Curtis' close relationship with a couple of the officers, one being a best friend, Burton, and the other a surrogate son of sorts, Francis. Enroute to the German staging area, which is in the Bay of Biscay a couple hundred miles off the coast of West France, they learn that the massive German battleship Frederick II (named after the legendary Frederick the Great) has joined the German force and it has more firepower than any other ship in the Atlantic. Curtis decides he's going to sink it.

 

After some preparations, the Barrcuda sneaks into the Bay of Biscay towards the German fleet and nears the Frederick II. However before they can do anything a German sub detects them and fires a torpedo at them. It barely misses thanks to Curtis' quick thinking but now the Germans are on alert and their warships begin to hunt for the Barracuda, dropping depth charges. A tense scene happens as the Barracuda dives deep to avoid the charges and Curtis figures out what to do. They evade the depth charges and try to launch another attack but the same German sub detects them and fires again . Because the Barracuda was focused on the attack it is less able to evade and the torpedo explodes near it, causing damage. A number of sailors are killed or wounded and Curtis leads the salvage teams as the Barracuda limps away to safety. The result of the attack is that Curtis' best friend is badly hurt along with the others killed or wounded. The Barracuda sonar operator says he remembers the sound of the German sub from before and says it's the Schlange. Because of the damage, the Barracuda has to make as little noise as possible, meaning no radio contact with the outside world.

 

With the Barracuda focused on avoiding detection we can get some more character scenes with the main characters, namely Curtis, Burton, and Francis. Burton is injured bad but is able to reminisce with Curtis about their seafaring days as youths. We learn that Curtis' family died in a tragic accident a decade ago. The last few years he has taken on Francis as a protege and he and the best friend are the closest things he has to family. Curtis also tries to formulate a plan to strike back but also keep the Barracuda safe. He has to decide fast because a German destroyer gets near them and launches depth charges. After some tense evasion Curtis is able to outmanuever the destroyer and launches two torpedoes that cripple and sink the ship. The crew is delighted but Curtis is now worried since the sinking will draw the Germans to their location. He orders a retreat to the northwest, hopefully to rendezvous with other Allied ships.

 

However as the Barracuda does this the sonar operator detects signals going the same direction and at periscope depth Curtis can see they're German ships. It's the fleet moving to attack the big Allied convoy. Curtis realizes that they may have to make a second attempt at the fleet even though it could likely end up killing the Barracuda. After some desperate plans and assuring the other officers he isn't crazy, Curtis gets an idea to create a diversion to try and open a path to attack the big warships. He gets it in motion but partway through they are detected again, again by the Schlange, and though the Barracuda is able to sink the Schlange this time, cannon fire from the Frederick II heavily damages the submarine and the Barracuda has now lost a big chunk of its crew and is too damaged to do any more combat. As a result, Curtis says they'll have to quickly surface and evacuate the surviving crew in life rafts. Then, he'll take the sub back under, arm all the torpedoes in the bow, and crash the Barracuda into the Frederick II to sink it. Francis objects to the suicide mission but Curtis says it's the best way to scare off the German fleet. Burton says he will stay behind too, since he's too badly injured to survive long in the outside environment.

 

The plan goes into action with the Barracuda surfacing, quickly unloading all surviving crew, Francis in charge, and then diving again. Curtis gets the torpedoes armed and locks a course towards the Frederick II and is then told by Burton that he can get out, that Burton will handle the rest (since it's just driving straight). Curtis is reluctant but Burton tells him that it's okay for him to live, and if he lives longer he can take more Germans down with him. Curtis agrees and goes to the rear of the sub where he arranges for himself to be fired out of the rear torpedo tube. This happens with him getting zoomed out into periscope depth water (Yeah yeah this is crap physics and whatnot but it's cool and it's Liam Neeson damnit!).

 

As he swims to the surface Burton accelerates the Barracuda in. The Frederick II detects it and tries to fire at it, but the Barracuda moves too fast and is too close and it collides with the mega battleship and the result is an explosion that rips it in half and causes it to sink. Curtis meanwhile has got to the surface and with some effort is able to swim towards the rafts, though he tires and almost doesn't make it. Francis and the rest of the crew are overjoyed to see him. The German warships have been scared off by the loss of the Frederick II, though eventually a destroyer noses its way into the area and after seeing the life rafts decides to be merciful and pick them up. The survivors are put onto the deck with a light guard. Curtis eyes up the guard and gives Francis a nod, who passes the nod along to other men.

 

A member of the crew speaks German so Curtis has him translate between him and the German ship captain. Curtis has the translator pass on the message that the German captain made one mistake. When the captain asks what that mistake was, Curtis replies "You let us on your boat." He then headbutts the captain and the rest of the crew suddenly mobs the surprised guards with knives and other weapons hidden in their clothing. They grab the guns and immediately push inside the destroyer, shooting resisters and locking up those who surrender.

 

The film cuts ahead to Curtis and his men in control of the German ship. The translator says that a small German convoy with a light guard is leaving a French port and asks for additional escort. Curtis smiles, puts on the German captain's hat, and says "Let's go hunting." The crew cheers and the destroyer sets off for the convoy location, the camera zooming out over the high seas.

Edited April 22, 2018 by 4815162342

[4815162342]

Fatal Rendezvous

Genre: Crime

Cast: Robert Downey Jr. (Jackie Owens), Mark Ruffalo (Casey Maxwell), Guy Pearce (Ari Finch), Paula Patton (Alex Grace), John Slattery (Carnahan), Amy Ryan (Sandy Maxwell), Margaret Qualley (Sydney Michaels), Jimmi Simpson (Hunter Baxamusa), and Al Pacino (Jacob Bennett)

Written and Directed By: Jonathan Nolan

Release Date: October 4, Year 3

Theater Count: 3144

Budget: $60 million

Running Time: 118 Minutes

MPAA Rating: R for scenes of violence, strong language, and sexual content

 

Plot Summary:

 

Spoiler

 

The film opens with a news report featuring Jackie Owens (Robert Downey Jr.) front and center, and we learn that Jackie was a major action movie star who several years ago made the transition to be a successful director. We learn that Jackie is a major playboy and is associated with various love affairs, including with actress Alex Grace. We finally learn that two years ago Jackie Owens started a new studio, Trifecta Pictures, with legendary film producer Jacob Bennett, and a year ago they brought in Casey Maxwell (Ruffalo), an indie film writer/director, as a minor business partner and to direct films for the studio. There are rumors that the studio is about to make it big-time.

 

We see Casey at home with his wife Sandy (Ryan) and they have a loving relationship. They host dinner for Jackie and Jacob, though Jacob is late. Jackie is charming and we see that Casey has a large gun collection. Jackie asks if Casey can shoot any of them and Casey replies that he’s qualified to shoot every single one, since there’s no point to owning a gun for show. Jacob (Pacino) shows up eventually, a little drunk, and things slowly get tense since we see Jacob treats Casey like a third wheel. Sandy and Jackie manage to keep things cool and after Jacob leaves Casey goes outside to vent and Jackie joins him to reassure him. Later that night Casey confides to Sandy that he feels disrespected. We then see a scene of Jackie staying up through the night, going to clubs, having drinks, and gambling. We see Jackie likes to gamble with A LOT of money, and does so on credit.

 

Jackie goes to work hungover. At the daily business meeting with Casey and Jacob, Jackie only pays half-attention, until prodded by Jacob about plans for filmmaking. Jackie looks over prospective film ideas and says that as a new studio they need to be profitable first to survive. Jacob wants to maintain his reputation and Casey doesn’t want to sell out. Casey has some ideas but Jacob shoots them down quickly. Casey leaves in a bit of a huff. Jackie asks Jacob to take it a bit easier on Casey, but Jacob says that as the majority partner it’s his rules. That night Jackie goes home and finds Alex Grace (Monaghan) waiting for him. The two banter briefly and then start to kiss before going to the bedroom. They are very close but uncertain about having a monogamous relationship together.

 

We then see a scene with a young man, Hunter Baxamusa (Simpson), nervously buying drugs and then walking around the corner to a van. It turns out he is an informant working for Detective Ari Finch (Pearce) of Major Crimes. Baxamusa tries to talk up Finch about an impending lunar eclipse he plans to observe but Finch has tuned him out. Finch then executes a sting operation that takes down the drug dealers and their posse, with Finch getting rough in arresting some of them.

 

We then see scenes at Trifecta. Jacob works closely with his young assistant Sydney Michaels (Qualley), who handles his schedule and who also has a crush on Jackie, who encourages it with some flirting. We see Casey on a movie set as the director of a drama that is soon to enter production. However, Jacob halts the work, saying that because of tight financials they have to postpone production. Casey is upset since he thinks the film can be his ticket to an Oscar but Jacob tells him to deal with it. Later Jackie tries to cheer him up, but Casey is depressed and complains about how he is marginalized by Jacob all the time and sometimes he feels like bashing Jacob’s head in. Casey eventually leaves and Jackie tries to gamble some more at his local haunt but is told his credit is no longer any good because he owes over $1 million. Jackie leaves as a man (Slattery) watches from the shadows.

 

We see Casey at home with Sandy but he’s still frustrated and angry. Jackie meanwhile goes to a club where he hangs with Alex and the two talk about their quasi-relationship and if it means anything. They then go separate ways and Jackie in the street is accosted by some thugs. He is taken to a dingy room where the man from before, Carnahan, says that he works for the people Jackie owes his gambling debts to and those people are getting annoyed about the lack of payment. Carnahan has the thugs rough up Jackie a bit and says that other celebrities have had similar debts to Jackie’s and Jackie should know that a couple of them a few years back had fatal accidents that weren’t “accidents.” Carnahan gives Jackie two weeks to scrape together the $1 million in gambling debts.

 

Jackie is of course worried and broods and is out of focus for some days. He checks with his accountant and finds that because of various other debts and loans he has, even if he sold his cars and his big home and other pricey assets he’d still be short on the $1 million he owes. Meanwhile Casey is working on a spec script and tries to run it by Jacob, but Jacob shoots it down as something sure to be a loser at the box office, which Trifecta can’t afford.

 

We see Finch again briefly, this time interrogating a suspect at a police station. We see that Finch has an abrasive and antagonistic style, straying close to the line of impropriety. He gets the suspect to confess, but his unit captain warns Finch he’s investing too much in each investigation and could lose himself in the energy of the moment. It could cause him trouble one day.

 

After a week, Jackie learns that Numerator Pictures has made an offer to Jacob to purchase Trifecta for $15 million. Jackie has a 40% stake, so the sale proceeds after taxes would give him enough to cover his obligation to Carnahan’s people. Jackie convinces Casey to do the deal since Casey wants to transfer his projects to a studio that would respect him more. But since Jacob is the majority partner, he has final say. Jackie does his best to convince Jacob but Jacob is unwilling. Finally, Casey speaks up but Jacob shouts him down, berating him for being a nothing-director who is riding on others’ coattails. Jacob shouts “THIS IS MY STUDIO!” and then storms out. Casey bitterly leaves as well. Jackie chats up Sydney and learns from her that many rival studios think that Jacob is on the verge of taking Trifecta to the big time and want to scoop it. Sydney adds that Jacob “would die” before selling Trifecta.

 

We see Jackie later that night in bed and he looks like he has an epiphany. He slips away and calls Casey, who is annoyed because of the time but Jackie says they need to talk. They meet and Jackie tells Casey they need to kill Jacob Bennett. Casey is understandably freaked out but Jackie slowly convinces him that killing Bennett so they can split his shares in Trifecta and cash out is the best thing for both of them. Jackie says he’ll handle the details, but when the time comes Casey needs to give Jackie a gun from his gun collection and have an alibi.

 

A couple scenes show the nervous preparations for the murder plot. In one scene they meet at a gun range (since the loud noise helps cover up their talking) and practice shooting. Casey is a great shot, whereas Jackie isn’t that good handling a gun. Jackie woos Sydney and gets her to spill some more beans about Jacob’s plans. This info allows him to approach Jacob and convince him to have a meeting with just them two on Jacob’s yacht. Casey tries to play it cool at work and at home but he’s close to a nervous wreck. Meanwhile, we see Hunter doing some daily routine stuff, and then buying equipment to observe the lunar eclipse he talked about earlier, which occurs the same night as Jackie’s meeting on the yacht. The final stage has Jackie working on his own alibi for the night of the meeting, convincing Alex to go along with saying that Jackie spent the night with her, with her believing that Jackie is doing some random unsavory thing he needs to cover for. Finally ,Casey plans a trip with Sandy to visit her parents, but says he will be a few hours behind her because of “business.”

 

After a couple more short scenes it’s murder time. Jackie and Casey meet for Casey to hand over a pistol. They then separate, with Casey driving off, nervous the whole way. Jackie meanwhile drives his Maserati to the marina where Jacob’s yacht is. Unknownst to him, Hunter has set up on a hill overlooking the marina to observe the lunar eclipse and sees Jackie’s Maserati arrive with purple headlights. He’s too far away to get a good look at any person. As Jackie waits below decks, Jacob arrives at the marina and walks onto his yacht (Hunter seeing him too) and goes below deck to find himself standing on a tarp and Jackie waiting with a gun. Jacob at first thinks it’s a stupid joke but Jackie, hesitant, insists he is here to kill Jacob. Jacob laughs and launches an epic berating of Jackie’s talents. Jackie tells Jacob to shut up, but Jacob laughs more, realizing Jackie may not be able to go through with it, and continues berating him in the crazy energetic style only Al Pacino can do. Finally, Jackie and pulls the trigger, but nothing happens, because the safety is still on. Jacob cackles, saying that Jackie was an action star but can’t even fire a gun properly. Jackie tries to turn off the safety but Jacob rushes him and the two get into a tussle, finally ending with Jackie shooting Jacob point-blank and getting splattered with blood. The lunar eclipse is at this point so it is pitch black, but Hunter hears the shot. After a few seconds, Jackie freaks out, and wraps Jacob’s body in the tarp, and drags it out of the yacht to his car and the lunar eclipse lets up just as he stuffs the trunk into the back of his Maserati. Jackie then drives off and Hunter uneasily looks around before quickly gathering his things and running away. Jackie then goes to a secluded beach spot and quickly digs a hole to dump the tarp in.

 

Casey is late to his in-laws and clearly has been drinking. Sandy is annoyed but Casey irritably brushes her concerns aside and passes out. Jackie gets back to his home and immediately disposes of his bloody clothing. He gets the shakes. The following day when Jacob doesn’t show up to work Sydney gets worried and when Jacob’s wife calls looking for him they both get concerned. After a day with no sign they call the police. The case is assigned to Finch. Finch begins his investigation by interviewing people at the studio. Jackie mentions his alibi and Sydney says Jacob might have gone to his yacht. Finch then goes to Jacob’s yacht and sees a couple signs of a struggle that Jackie didn’t erase and has a CSI team called.

 

A couple investigatory scenes later Casey returns with Sandy and is met at home by Finch, who interviews him. Casey is a bit nervous but gets through it, and Finch gives him a card with his personal number on it, if anything comes to Casey’s mind. Casey shoves the card into the back of a drawer. Finch goes back to his precinct where he mulls results from the CSI team, which concludes that Jacob was there and there was a bullet hole. Meanwhile Jackie and Casey meet and Jackie tells Casey to play it cool. Once the dust settles they can sell Trifecta. Jackie then gets in contact with Carnahan and asks for an extension, saying that he can get the money when Trifecta is sold, but it can’t be sold until the Bennett investigation is cold. Carnahan agrees, with the condition that Jackie now owes an extra 25%. Carnahan also suggests that Jackie was very “fortunate” with Bennett disappearing.

 

A few scenes show the investigation by Finch stalled, so Jackie decides he can loosen up and asks Alex to accompany him on a trip to Europe. Alex agrees, but is concerned about the Bennett business, putting two and two together to figure out Jackie was involved. Jackie says it’ll all blow over soon and says that now they can build Alex’s career far more than she could have done. Finch is annoyed by his investigation going nowhere and takes his stress out on his desk, breaking a few drawers.

 

Jackie and Alex gallivant around Europe while Casey has trouble sleeping. Sandy just thinks he is stressed. Meanwhile we see Hunter again, after seeing some news reports on Bennett disappearing, working up the courage to approach Finch. Finch is astounded at the news and soon learns from financial records that Jackie owns a Maserati. He also learns about the model of gun that fired the bullet in the hole and learns it is rare, and that Casey Maxwell purchased a gun of that model a few years ago. Finch acquires search warrants for Jackie and Casey’s homes and also has a search party comb through the beaches north of the marina which is direction the Maserati Hunter saw drove.

 

We see the search of Jackie’s home and they find his Maserati but no trace of purple headlights or other incriminating evidence. Finch leads the search of Casey’s home and finds that there is an empty spot in Casey’s gun collection. Casey tries to explain it but Finch asks him to come down to the station for a talk. Sandy is now concerned and Casey tells her they’ll talk later.

 

We jump to after Casey’s interrogation with Finch telling another detective that Casey knows something and he’ll crack eventually. He then receives word that Jackie’s plane is about to return. He meets Jackie at the airport and escorts him to an interrogation room where he grills Jackie in a tense “interview,” laying down evidence they have that points his way. Jackie remains unflappable and uses some wit and insults to keep Finch at arms-length. Finch has no choice but to let Jackie go, but then learns that a sweep has found Jacob’s body.

 

Casey returns home and Sandy confronts him over what’s going on. Unable to keep quiet, Casey confesses to her about being partly responsible for Jacob’s death. He urges her to stay silent about this and she agrees to keep Casey out of jail. Finch arrives where Jacob’s body is buried and learns from CSI teams that he was shot and they can analyze the bullet soon.

 

Alex meanwhile distances herself from Jackie since she’s uncomfortable being with him while the investigation is ongoing. Jackie is nervous about the police pressure and meets with Carnahan. Jackie proposes a deal for Carnahan’s bosses. If they help work to make the investigation disappear, then when Jackie sells Trifecta and makes a new film production startup, it’ll use profits to “invest” in operations run by those bosses. Carnahan says that Jackie loves to dig himself deeper into holes and says he’ll take the offer to his bosses.

 

While Finch waits for the bullet analysis, he interviews Sydney again and with some pressure is able to get her to turn over some of Jacob’s notes and files. From them he learns that Jacob had scheduled a meeting on his yacht, but they don’t say with who. However, he then gets news from the CSI team that makes him smile.

 

It’s the day of Jacob’s funeral and Jackie and Casey are on-hand to pay their respects. While Jackie is unflappable, Casey looks upset. Afterwards, with Sandy nudging him, Casey approaches Jackie and the two take a walk and Casey says he’s not feeling good about this. Jackie turns dark and tells Casey that they’ve gone too far to be caught now. Casey returns home to find Finch waiting for him. Finch says that they matched the bullet that killed Jacob to a type of gun that Casey owned, and Casey happens to be missing that particular gun type. Casey says he took a family trip that night, but Finch points out he traveled on his own, never stopped anywhere that could give him a receipt, never went through tolls, and showed up hours later than his wife. With that, Finch arrests Casey. Meanwhile Jackie “consoles” Sydney, the two being intimate as he subtly gets her to tell him what she’s told Finch. What she says doesn’t concern him too much, though when he gets a call about Casey’s arrest he does become so.

 

At the station Finch grills Casey. Casey doesn’t budge, but Finch can see he’s hiding something. So Finch tries to play on Casey being treated bad by Jacob, insinuating Casey wanted to hide his failures, and then getting violent in his vocal tone. Casey is close to cracking but Sandy and a lawyer show up to stop things. Because of spousal privilege Sandy is able to stay in the room with Casey’s lawyer. Sandy urges him to come clean about everything to spare himself some prison time, but Casey doesn’t want to rat out a friend. Finch meanwhile talks over things with another detective who says that Casey doesn’t have a Maserati. Finch knows this and says that just means Casey is covering for a second party.

 

Jackie gets a phone call from Carnahan that the “deal” is on and Carnahan’s people will keep Jackie clear of any trouble with the law. Carnahan makes it clear though to Jackie that “we own you now.” He asks about Casey but Jackie says Casey is a friend and will keep quiet. Casey meanwhile is let go without being charged due to his lawyer using some fancy legal tricks. Jackie calls him to support him and asks for Casey’s proxy to make financial deals. Casey agrees so Jackie begins putting things into motion to pay off his debt, sell Trifecta, and get the mob involved on his next venture.

 

Carnahan through sources learns about Hunter and has a couple men keep an eye on him. Hunter notices one and calls Finch to say he feels watched, so Finch drives over to Hunter’s place but arrives to find Hunter dead. This pisses Finch off so he goes to angrily confront Casey at his house. Casey has no idea what’s happened and tries to calm Finch down but Finch loses control and throws Casey against a wall and puts him in a chokehold. Finch tells Casey that he is going to make sure Casey and anyone else involved pays the maximum price before storming off.

 

Meanwhile Jackie gets a call from Sydney that she’s worried she found something bad. Jackie goes to her place and she tells him she’s found audio recordings Jacob used for notes and one of them says he is meeting Jackie the night of his death. Sydney promises she won’t reveal them, saying she loves Jackie. Jackie thanks her for this and pulls her in for a kiss, but his eyes reveal his worry. The scene jumps to later, with Jackie climbing out of her bed to make a call to Carnahan, saying that there’s a loose end Carnahan needs to take care of delicately. Carnahan laughs and says Jackie’s racking up quite the body count and adds he’ll get it done.

 

Jackie goes to talk to Alex Grace, who has kept her distance. Jackie tells her that so long as Casey stays quiet nothing connects him to what happened. He tells her that her career has stalled and with his new company he can get her the roles that will send her to the next level. Alex is unsure but Jackie convinces her that they’ve always had something between them and they need to take care of one another. Alex finally agrees to stick to the story, but tells Jackie that everything catches up with people sooner or later.

 

Finch is reprimanded for assaulting Casey and is suspended. He pleads to stay on the investigation, saying he knows Jackie Owens is involved too, but he is denied. Meanwhile word reaches Jackie and Casey that Sydney was found dead in her home from an apparent overdose of sleeping pills. Casey thinks the loss of Jacob hit her hard but Jackie avoids eye contact. This makes Casey realize something is off and Jackie says he’s making sure the evidence against them is contained. Casey is horrified, asking if Jackie plans to “contain him” as well. Jackie says Casey is his friend, but Casey storms off in disgust. Jackie, shaken, has a drink.

 

A prosecutor hauls in Alex for questioning about Jackie’s alibi and she holds up. She is able to avoid being flustered when it is insinuated she is covering for Jackie because they’re sleeping together. The prosecutor talks with Finch’s captain and we learn that there isn’t enough physical evidence to formally charge either Casey or Jackie, so they’ll only get them if one flips on the other, and considering how close they are it’d take something drastic to achieve that.

 

Jackie speaks with Carnahan over the phone to finalize the financial deals and Carnahan detects Jackie is bothered by something. After Carnahan pressures him Jackie mentions how Casey is slipping closer and closer to the edge. Jackie says it won’t be a problem, that Casey will stay true, and gets the topic back to the finances of the mob deal. After the call Carnahan calls his own boss and says it looks like there’s a further precaution they need to take, though this one has to be done in a special way to avoid suspicion.

 

We see what Finch is up to and see that he’s going over evidence reports but can’t find a smoking gun. He pounds the table in frustration and paces around his house before collapsing in a chair, nothing to do. Meanwhile, Sandy is grocery shopping and as she leaves a back exit a van pulls up in the alley and masked men grab her and throw her inside. There are no witnesses.

 

Casey gets home from a jog to find no one home, and then gets a phone call: from Carnahan. Carnahan says he is an associate of Jackie. Carnahan tells Casey that Sandy has been taken since Casey is unreliable. If Casey wants to ensure no harm comes to Sandy, he is to go to a warehouse at a certain address and “do the right thing.” Carnahan has Sandy talk as proof and Sandy urges Casey to go to the cops. Carnahan says Casey can do that, but if he goes to the police station or the courthouse his men will know, and then Sandy will die, and Casey will get it too before trial. Carnahan hangs up and Casey looks nauseous. He goes to Jackie’s house and punches Jackie in the face. The two grapple, trade a few punches, until Jackie gets Casey to calm down long enough to learn what happened to Sandy. Jackie is shocked and says he had nothing to do with this, so Casey tells him to call it off, to which Jackie says that Carnahan’s people are in business with him and they will do anything and everything to keep that money safe. Casey is disgusted and says either he goes to his death or he allows Sandy to die. Jackie is remorseful and wishes things were different. Casey glares at Jackie and then storms out. He returns home and suddenly gets an idea and rushes to a desk drawer to fish for something.

 

Finch is still sulking at home when he gets a call from Casey, who tells Finch what happened and says that if Finch helps him get his wife out of danger, he will tell Finch everything. Finch immediately gets into action mode and has Casey wait for him. Finch gets to Casey’s house quickly, after briefly calling his captain to say a sudden lead appeared, and has Casey explain where Carnahan is waiting with Sandy. Finch says they need to handle this delicately, but Casey refuses and pulls out a gun from his collection, saying he’s going to rescue his wife and if Finch won’t help then the police will never know the truth. In a tight spot, Finch agrees to Casey’s terms, but asks what happens if Casey dies. Casey says Finch better not let that happen.

 

In the meantime Jackie calls Carnahan to convince him to let Sandy go. Carnahan says his superiors are too involved now to allow any risk and asks if Casey will show. Jackie sadly says Casey will show to save his wife. Carnahan is pleased and suggests Jackie go out and celebrate the last loose end being cut. Jackie silently stands in his house, contemplating the potential loss of a close friend to save himself. He visits Alex and as the two drink Jackie says he feels cornered so Alex suggests he come clean. Jackie says he can’t do that, but in any case it’s all out of his hands now. Alex asks what Jackie will do and Jackie says he might as well try to enjoy the night: Either he’ll be celebrating being free, or he’ll be having one last good time before the end.

 

Finch and Casey arrive at the warehouse in separate cars since Finch has to remain unseen. Finch radios backup. Casey goes in to see Carnahan and a few other thugs waiting with Sandy tied to a chair. Carnahan says Casey’s made it easy now. Casey says he’s written scenarios like this and guesses Carnahan plans to kill him and Sandy and arrange it as a murder-suicide. Carnahan nods and has Casey walk into the middle of the warehouse and says it’ll be over quick. Casey agrees that it will be and tells Sandy that everything is going to be okay. Finch pops in from the back and shouts “Police! Hands in the air!” Carnahan and his thugs turn towards Finch and pull out their guns but Finch is quicker and takes down a thug, and Casey pulls out the gun he took and starts shooting. Carnahan sees this and fires a shot that hits Casey in the gut as Casey hits him twice in the chest. In a couple seconds Carnahan and the other thugs are dead so Finch cuts Sandy’s bonds and immediately radios for medical assistance as he begins to apply first aid to Casey. As he does this Sandy pleads for Casey to stay with them and the scene fades out.

 

In the aftermath, police and medical staff swarm the warehouse. Finch is patched up for a minor gunshot wound to an arm and is talked to by his captain who says Finch never knows when to stop. Finch says he’ll go back to his suspension, but first he wants to finish the case. His captain nods, so Finch goes to Casey who is being loaded into an ambulance with Sandy holding his hand. The medics say he’ll make it. Finch tells Casey that they had a deal. Casey says he doesn’t expect to get better treatment, but he’ll come clean. Finch leans in and says “then start talking.”

 

That night, Jackie comes out of a lavish Hollywood party, Alex on his arm, to see Finch and other policemen waiting for him. Jackie sighs and gives Alex a sad smile as Finch, with a huge smirk, walks over to arrest him and lead him to a squad car as paparazzi take photos. Alex watches the car drive off and shakes her head in a mix of sadness and disgust.

 

At the hospital Casey is out of surgery and in recovery with Sandy and his lawyer. The DA comes in and says Jackie is arrested and it’s time to make the deal official. Casey will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and testify against Jackie at trial. In exchange, he gets 10-15 years in prison. Casey looks at Sandy and his lawyer, who both nod, and says he’ll take it. He signs the paperwork and is then left alone with Sandy, who tells him he did the right thing. Casey stares off into space and wonders why he feels so crappy.

 

Finch sits Jackie down in an interrogation room and says that it’s all over; with Casey turning state’s evidence they got the evidence to charge him. Jackie, resigned, nods and says life is like his movies after all: the “bad guy” never gets away with it. Finch says that Jackie might as well share his side of the story to make it easier on him. Jackie says he wants Alex Grace left out of this, she only provided an alibi because they were very close and she wasn’t involved in any other way. Finch sarcastically comments about Jackie acting noble, to which Jackie replies “Well, you didn’t think for my final performance I would play a crude one-dimensional killer? The best villains always have many faces.” After a couple seconds Finch says “I suppose they do.” Finch starts a tape recorder and begins asking Jackie preliminary questions such as his name, age, residence, etc, as the camera slowly pulls back from their table. Finch then asks “Did you murder Jacob Bennett?” The screen cuts to black and then Jackie responds “Yes, I did.”

 

 

Edited April 23, 2018 by 4815162342

[4815162342]

Bioshock

 

Genre: Sci-Fi

Cast: Alicia Vikander (Jacqueline), Domhnall Gleeson (Atlas), Carice van Houten (Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum), Chin Han (Dr. Li Suchong), Colm Feore (Dr. J.S. Steinman), McKenna Grace (Sister), with Vincent Cassel (Sander Cohen), and Kenneth Branagh (Andrew Ryan)

Written and Directed By: Alex Garland

Original Music By: John Murphy

Release Date: 5/17

Theater Count: 3770

Budget: $150 million

Running Time: 138 minutes

MPAA Rating: R for scenes of graphic violence, language, and disturbing images

 

Plot Summary: The film takes place in 1960, in a world slightly different from the one we know.

 

Spoiler

 

The film opens in a first-person perspective of someone underwater, struggling to get to the surface. As the person rises, the view sees metal debris sinking around him. Finally the person reaches the surface, gasping for breath, and the first-person view, looking around, sees the dramatic site of a plane crash in the midst of a storm. The film then shifts to a normal perspective and we get our first good look at Jacqueline (Vikander), looking confused and panicked. Paddling to stay afloat, she sees in the distance a lighthouse on a rocky atoll and starts swimming there.

 

At the lighthouse Jacqueline stumbles onshore and collapses from exhaustion.

 

“Can I get you anything” the stewardess asked her. Jacqueline shook his head and looked around at the handful of passengers on the flight. Across the aisle in her row was a beautiful young woman. Jacqueline started a conversation with her and the two spoke for a couple minutes, getting along well, before the woman said she needed some rest but they’d pick up where they left off later. As she went to sleep, Jacqueline looked at the small box on the seat next to her. A gift from her parents. She again looked at the note that said “would you kindly not open until-“ the rest blocked by her hand. As he looked at it, a loud mechanical creaking noise drowned out all else.

 

Jacqueline wakes up suddenly, seeing the fuselage of the plane disappear beneath the waves, which are growing in power. With nowhere else to go, she investigates the lighthouse, where he soon finds a trap door that leads into a basement. In the basement is a mechanical apparatus for a bathysphere system. Jacqueline, intrigued, walks around it and finally places a hand on the bathysphere. Suddenly the machines spring to life. Jacqueline talks to herself aloud, wondering if she should wait for rescue craft. Her question is answered by the lighthouse shaking from a large wave impact. She enters the bathysphere and finds the activation button, which sends the sphere plunging into the ocean depths.

 

As the sphere descends, a video screen activates, showing a man introducing himself as Andrew Ryan (Branagh). It is a recording of an introductory speech prepared for travelers. In it, Ryan welcomes the occupants to the great experiment of “Rapture” where they’ll be able to engage in scientific and artistic pursuits free from the tyranny of government policy. After a minute of him explaining his philosophy, Ryan’s speech says that now the occupants can see the modern wonder of the world: Rapture. At that point the sphere crests a ridgeline and a gloriously colored and lit underwater city is seen. As Jacqueline marvels at the sight, Ryan’s speech in the background says “They say that God created the Earth, but I created Rapture.”

 

Eventually the bathysphere docks after we get a long tracking shot of the sphere descending into Rapture. Jacqueline cautiously steps out and is suddenly greeted by a booming voice over an intercom system, Ryan’s voice. Ryan remarks that it appears Rapture has a visitor and wonders if it is a man or a slave. Jacqueline makes her way through a maze of corridors and everything looks rundown. Finally in a compartment leading out she encounters a pair of people, only they look deformed and talk in deranged tones. They say Ryan promised them more plasmids if they killed the visitor. Jacqueline tries to ask what is going on but they’re clearly insane. One of them, with hooks instead of hands, charges and Jacqueline grabs a wrench and quickly knocks the guy out. The other screams and somehow shoots a fireball at Jacqueline, who dodges it. The second guy maniacally cackles but Jacqueline sneaks behind him and knocks the guy out as well. Disturbed, Jacqueline moves aimlessly trying to find some clues as to where she is.

 

We see a couple short scenes of Jacqueline wandering through compartments, but everything is torn, run-down, and broken. Once Jacqueline hides from a crew of several deformed humans, who chatter about killing the visitor. Finally Jacqueline enters a large atrium when she hears a girl’s voice singing. Driven by concern, she searches for the source and finds a little girl about ten sitting next to a dead body, softly singing. Jacqueline cautiously walks up to the girl, asking if she is okay, and when she puts a hand on her shoulder she jerks around, showing that her skin is pale gray, her eyes yellow, and in a hand she has some sort of injector. The girl (Grace) seems detached from reality, as Jacqueline recoils in shock. A loud metallic moaning noise is heard and Jacqueline turns to see something in a large mechanical suit: a Big Daddy. The Big Daddy emits a metallic shriek and charges at hwe with its drill arm revving up. Jacqueline barely dodges the first charge and makes a run for it. The Big Daddy starts to pursue but then a human voice shouts “There’s one! Get her!” Suddenly from the second floor of the emporium guns fire at the Big Daddy, bullets pinging off its armor. As the little girl hides the Big Daddy fires back with a machine gun, driving off the upstairs attackers, but then from the first floor several deformed humans attack with guns, mechanical tools, and some somehow shooting fire, ice, or electrical bolts. The Big Daddy wipes out most of the humans but eventually takes too much damage and with a loud moan collapses to the floor. The little girl cries out and rushes to the Big Daddy, hugging the armored titan as she begs it to get back up. One of the survivors shouts “Get the Sister! Steinman wants her alive!” and one of the mutants scoops up Sister and the pack departs. Jacqueline, instinctively starts to follow when a man’s voice from behind says “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

 

Jacqueline turns to face a dirty, tired-looking, man and asks who he is. The man says that he is Atlas (Gleeson) and that he’s been following Jacqueline since she arrived. Jacqueline asks what he wants and Atlas says they can help one another. When Jacqueline asks about Sister, Atlas says he can’t do anything for her right now and says he’ll explain things back at one of his safe houses. Atlas starts off but Jacqueline lingers, unsure. Atlas looks back and says “would you kindly follow, please?” and Jacqueline decides to follow the man.

 

At a nearby safehouse, with a hidden entrance and well-stocked with supplies, Atlas explains briefly where Jacqueline is. Rapture was designed by a scientist and capitalist called Andrew Ryan as a place where scientists and artists could be creative and innovative without intrusion. But all the workers who built the place had to stay or the secret would get out, so Ryan had to provide for them. People who lived in the city needed supplies from above, so smuggling rings developed, the biggest led by Frank Fontaine, who got powerful enough to rival Andrew Ryan. The two eventually went to war, with massacres in the streets. Eventually, Frank Fontaine was killed at one of his hideouts by an explosion, but many of his rabid supporters fought on, though now they’re outnumbered heavily by Ryan’s goons. Atlas says that he and some others belong to neither side, but just want to leave. Jacqueline nods but then asks what the deal was with the “Sister,” the “huge armored thing,” and how people got deformed and could do “magic or whatever that was.” Atlas smiles and says it’s a long story.

 

He briefly explains that scientists in Rapture discovered that special sea slugs secreted fluid that created wondrous mutations. The fluid was refined into a compound called ADAM, which could then be altered to create specific mutations or to sustain existing ones via enzymes called plasmids. One scientist found that sea slugs worked best inside a host organism, so Atlas says Ryan had little girls taken from orphanages or from the poor and had the slugs implanted into their stomachs, where the ADAM was produced tenfold and the girls were mutated into the “things”, Little Sisters, they are now. Ryan had guardians designed for them; mentally-altered humans welded into giant armor suits, Big Daddies. This was because the more mutations one implanted, the quicker they depleted and the more addicted to ADAM people became, until their bodies deformed and their minds degenerated. So now the Little Sisters, who contain tons of ADAM, are targets for the mutants, Splicers. Atlas leans back in his seat and pours himself some whiskey. “Now” he says, “about how we can help one another.”

 

The film cuts to a laboratory somewhere as a woman works on some biological data. The woman scientist (van Houten) looks at the results of a chemical test and scribbles some notes. She then goes to a large window which looks out into the ocean. Smoking on a cigarette, she sighs and then goes back to her lab table where she notices a data computation she left out. After adjusting her scribbles, she smiles.

 

Elsewhere, the band of Splicers from before enters a dingy medical ward. Carrying a bound-and-gagged Sister, they journey until they find an operating room, with mutilated and deformed bodies attached to the walls and the ceiling. In the middle, hacking away at a corpse, is Dr. J.S. Steinman (Feore), who shouts that yet again he has an imperfect specimen. He picks up a severed arm and points at the Splicers “You have another” he asks and they nod. “Well? Put her with the others!” he shouts. “Except you two” pointing at two Splicers with the arm. He gestures at the dumped body and then a bare patch on a wall. “Put it there! Only upside-down, it makes this place less symmetrical.” The scene jumps to Steinman overlooking a cell with almost a dozen Little Sisters locked inside. Over an intercom, he tells someone that he has another one. The voice on the other end is Ryan’s, and he tells Steinman that he’ll send someone to collect all of them, and when he gets the Little Sisters Steinman will be rewarded.

 

Jacqueline nervously makes his way through glass corridors linking the section of Rapture he was in to the vast section where The Medical Pavilion is.

 

“I have a family” Atlas told her mournfully, “but they’re trapped in Neptune’s Bounty. They and other refugees have a submersible, but the exit is sealed and they can’t get to the controls. The only way to Neptune’s Bounty is locked and only one man has the key: Dr. J.S. Steinman, the famous surgeon gone mad. He experiments on the living and the dead, but he also experiments with ADAM and collects Little Sisters for that purpose. He won’t hand you the key and he’s raving mad, so you’ll have to kill him. Then you can free my family.”

 

Jacqueline edges into a large atrium. She makes his way through what used to be a fancy restaurant, the tables overturned, bullet holes in the walls, and goes up to a second-story floor that overlooks the Pavilion entrance. Seeing a few Splicers, Jacqueline takes aim.

 

“So I do all this, but what is in it for me?” Jacqueline asked. “A way back up to the surface” Atlas replied. “I wouldn’t leave you down here after all of that, and I’m sure you have family topside.” Jacqueline nodded and agreed to the proposal. Atlas then went to a storage locker and pulled out a few things. One is a gun. One is a syringe. One is a strange injector item. One is a small radio. Atlas said guns alone won’t help him, so he’ll need plasmids. He injected Jacqueline with the syringe and Jacqueline convulsed over the mutation’s effect. After the feeling wore off, Atlas told her that she got a cocktail with general physical enhancements and he got some extra firepower. A spark of electricity cackled between Jacqueline’s fingers.

 

Jacqueline fires at the Splicers, quickly gunning down the few outside. Several more rush out and shoot back. Some shoot at him outside while others enter the building to attack. Jacqueline retreats and fires electricity at the couple Splicers inside, the bolts frying them. Another one sneaks in and tries to stab Jacqueline, but Jacqueline’s better physical abilities allow her to dodge and she beats the Splicer down. She eliminates the few remaining Splicers and enters the Medical Pavilion.

 

“But what about the Little Sisters” Jacqueline asked. Atlas smirked and said that the Little Sisters, though they look human, are monsters devoid of any feeling. All they are is a source of ADAM and if Jacqueline wants she can harvest it from them. The side effect of that would be to kill the Little Sister. Jacqueline was uneasy about that so Atlas said the choice was hers, but more ADAM would make his journey easier.

 

The woman from before is alerted by a pinging noise from a video screen. There she sees the fight outside the Medical Pavilion. “Perhaps this is the chance” she says to herself and quickly exits the lab.

 

Steinman is carving up another body when a Splicer says that someone has broken in. “Another specimen!” Steinman exclaims. “She must be here for our darling guests, please bring them to me so she’ll find us.”

 

Jacqueline makes her way through the Medical Pavilion, which is smeared with dried blood. Jacqueline finds the central room where Steinman is, finding him and a bundle of Splicers guarding the Little Sisters. “Ah! Now you look like quite the physical being!” Steinman exclaims. “You must be here for my little darlings! I’m so sorry but they belong to another…or to me, never can remember.” Jacqueline is outnumbered and things look even worse when from the back comes loud thumping and moaning, which turns out to be two Big Daddies. “Ryan’s deliverymen!” Steinman says happily. “But where are my bodies?” At that point the intercom crackles and Ryan’s voice comes through. “Unfortunately, Doctor, your services are no longer required.” Before Steinman can say anything the Big Daddies begin firing on the Splicers, who fight back with guns and explosive plasmids. The Little Sisters panic and most run out the safe path the Big Daddies came in by, but one, Sister, the one Jacqueline saw earlier, runs out the way Jacqueline entered. Jacqueline instinctively runs after her and finds her cowering in a corner and Jacqueline tries to calm her down but suddenly Steinman appears and tries to stab Jacqueline, but Jacqueline dodges and fries Steinman with her plasmid instinctively. “All my work…” a crisped Steinman mumbles before dying. Jacqueline grabs the access key from Steinman, picks up Sister, and carries her outside the Pavilion. There, pondering what to do with Sister, a female’s voice from above calls out.

 

The source is the woman from before, leaning over a railing. She says she is Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum. Tenenbaum says she suspects Jacqueline has been told that the Little Sisters are monsters, but there is a way to cure them. “You won’t get the ADAM you may desire” she says, “but if you save those you encounter, I will make sure you get help.” She tosses down a tool to Jacqueline, who after a moment’s thought uses it on Sister, who jerks and convulses as the mutation is reversed and she returns to looking like a normal girl. Sister looks around in wonder and asks if Jacqueline is a “knight.” Jacqueline laughs and says she’s just trying to get home. By this point Tenenbaum has come down to her level and asks for Sister. Jacqueline hands the girl over to Tenenbaum, who thanks her for her decency. “I will make sure you get assistance” she promises. Jacqueline sayss he is going to Neptune’s Bounty to free a sub with people waiting to leave and offers for her to come with him. Tenenbaum declines, saying she has a lot of work to accomplish here helping the Little Sisters return to normal, but she gives Jacqueline a plasmid, saying it will help her. She wishes Jacqueline luck and then departs, Sister waving at Jacqueline over her shoulder, and Jacqueline hears his radio crackle. It is Atlas asking for an update. Jacqueline says that she has the key. Atlas is pleased and asks Jacqueline if she would kindly get to Neptune’s Bounty quickly since Ryan’s men are sure to be alert now. Jacqueline promises she will. After the conversation ends Jacqueline injects the plasmid and feels rejuvenated. She then involuntary summons a fallen Splicer’s gun to her hand, revealing that she now possesses telekinesis. Smiling at her new ability, Jacqueline goes off towards Neptune’s Bounty.

 

We then see Jacqueline entering Neptune’s Bay, which has a colorful, marina-like appearance. After ambushing a couple isolated Splicers, Jacqueline winds up at a control room overlooking a docking bay where a small submarine is ready. Jacqueline contacts Atlas on the radio and tells him that she’s about to free the sub when Andrew Ryan’s voice booms over an intercom and, apparently addressing Atlas, says that Atlas’ insurrection has gone on long enough and it is time for him to experience pain for furthering the cause of “parasites.” His voice turns its attention towards Jacqueline. Ryan says he watched her progress and wonders again if she is a man or a slave. Suddenly explosive charges go off in the docking bay, collapsing the entire complex on top of the sub, which is crushed by debris and tons of water flows into the area from hull breaches. Jacqueline is protected in the control room and stammers to Atlas that Ryan has destroyed the docking bay. Atlas is silent for a moment and then, his voice filled with rage, declares that Ryan must pay. He tells Jacqueline that now the only way to leave Rapture is through the bathysphere network and only Ryan’s genetic key operates the controls. The only way therefore to escape Rapture is to kill Andrew Ryan. Jacqueline isn’t sure of murder but Atlas reminds her what Ryan just did and asks “since I cannot reach him, would you kindly head to Ryan’s office and kill the son-of-a-b***h?” After a moment of thought, Jacqueline agrees.

 

Jacqueline picks her way through Neptune’s Bay and asks Atlas what Ryan meant by insurrection. Atlas admits that after Frank Fontaine died he led some people against Ryan, but it was only because Ryan had become a despot. Jacqueline is a little skeptical, but brushes it off and asks where she has to go. Atlas says she has to get to Hephaestus, the section of Rapture where Ryan makes his headquarters. But the only remaining connection to there is through Fort Frolic, and Atlas warns Jacqueline that Fort Frolic is a dangerous but necessary obstacle. Jacqueline says she isn’t worried about Splicers but Atlas says “I don’t mean the Splicers, I mean the man Ryan put in charge of the place.”

 

Fort Frolic. In a concert hall, a man in a tuxedo plays a mournful tune on a piano, surrounded by sculptures. A Splicer wearing a mask walks up to him but waits a minute for the tune to finish. The man finishes playing and tells the Splicer that nothing fits the beginning of the end as much as that tune and the Splicer quickly agrees before telling the man there is a visitor in Rapture. The man says he must think about this. He walks past the Splicer, looks at the stage, and says something looks missing. He suddenly slashes the Splicer’s throat. As the Splicer bleeds out, the man summons two more and points to a blank spot on the stage, saying to make the dead Splicer look like he is pleading. We see that the sculptures are actually dead bodies, covered in plaster. As the Splicers carry off the body the man thinks before finally shouting, his voice echoing, “My friends I suspect we will soon have a guest! Prepare yourselves for a night of entertainment conducted by none other than the greatest artist Rapture has seen, I, Sander Cohen!” Sander Cohen (Cassel) laughs maniacally and swirls his arms around like a conductor as we see Splicers begin to go into action around the hall, preparing it for…something.

 

Jacqueline arrives in the outer atrium of Fort Frolic. Over the radio Atlas tells her that Sander Cohen was the most talented and famous artist in Rapture, a painter, sculptor, writer, and composer all in one. But when the conflict between Ryan and Fontaine escalated Cohen became “certifiable” and closed off Fort Frolic to either side to maintain solitude so he could work on his “masterpieces.” Atlas says that Cohen is the only way to Ryan with the damage the city has sustained.

 

Jacqueline makes a beeline for a transport tube that would take him to Hephaestus but it quickly gets sealed off. Over an intercom he hears a laugh. “A new audience member arrives! Welcome!” the voice shouts. “Come in, I foresee us collaborating on something marvelous!” The entrance to the concert hall opens and Jacqueline enters.

 

Inside the concert hall is dimly lit, aside from a stage where a spotlight shines on a Splicer playing piano. Jacqueline edges closer and sees that the Splicer is tied to the piano and is gagged. As Jacqueline gets even closer the Splicer hits a crescendo on the music piece, which triggers an explosion on the piano that kills the Splicer. “Such a chaotic thing art is” Cohen’s voice says over the intercom. “It creates, allures, and destroys us all.” Jacqueline shouts for Cohen to show himself, but Cohen laughs and says he wants to know if Jacqueline is suited for a task first. He tells Jacqueline that one of his associates has taken some valuable things that he wants back. If Jacqueline returns them, then a deal can be worked out. Cohen’s voice instructs Jacqueline to enter the entertainment and leisure levels of Fort Frolic where the former associate is hiding. Jacqueline wearily agrees.

 

Over a few short scenes we see Jacqueline track down the rogue Splicer Cohen wants. Eventually Jacqueline finds the target, who has a small posse guarding him, and in a quick but pyrotechnic fight kills them all with his plasmids. Searching the target, Jacqueline finds a large envelope filled with sheets of musical notes, pencil sketches, poetry, and assorted ramblings that Jacqueline doesn’t take the time to read. Jacqueline grumbles that this stuff better be worth it.

 

We see Tenenbaum in her lab, working hard. She goes to another room and looks in, where we see several former Little Sisters, including Sister, reading or playing. Tenenbaum smiles and goes back to her desk, where she sees a light blinking on the intercom. She turns it on and says “I wondered when you would be calling.” The voice that replies is Andrew Ryan’s and he asks her why she has helped the newcomer. Tenenbaum says she believes she is a good person and that maybe she can help her atone for the things she has done. Ryan says Tenenbaum has gotten sentimental and she should know better, since she “had her part to play.” Tenenbaum is silent but finally tells Ryan that soon they will know which of them is right. Ryan agrees, but adds that no matter what, whatever happens will be because he chooses it to happen.

 

Jacqueline returns to the concert hall and Cohen over the intercom congratulates Jacqueline, but then says that now there’s no reason to keep Jacqueline around. Jacqueline shouts that they had a deal but Cohen’s voice laughs. As Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” plays from the beginning over the intercom, the doors to the concert hall seal shut and the lights dim. Jacqueline readies himself, setting up in a corner of the hall. At 1:16 Splicers start lurking in the shadows and take up positions on the lower and upper levels. At 1:46 they start to attack with weapons and plasmids. Jacqueline fights back, staying at first in her spot but soon the numbers of Splicers from multiple directions force her on the move at 2:17 and from that point on we get a gorgeous tracking shot that follows Jacqueline as she moves around, engaging the Splicers with ranged weapons, plasmids, and even melee weapons. At one point she does a daring leap off of a balcony back to the lower floor, evading an attack in the process. Eventually at 4:36 the music abruptly cuts off and Cohen’s voice shouts for the surviving Splicers to leave Jacqueline be. As they do so, Cohen apologizes to Jacqueline, but explains “the most beautiful art can sometimes be the weave of violence we create through struggle. I had to be sure you were a true artist like myself. Now we can meet.”

 

A dazzling display of stage lights, pyrotechnics, and over-the-top intro music plays as Sander Cohen appears at the top level and waltzes his way down to Jacqueline, who looks furious. Cohen congratulates Jacqueline with a smirk. Jacqueline tells Cohen to get it over with. Cohen laughs and says that there’s more to things than just passing by. He asks for the envelope and Jacqueline hands it over. Cohen ruffles through it, randomly tossing sheets of paper all over as he mutters “rubbish, mediocre, unacceptable.” Finally he finds a few sheets of paper and says they’re what he wanted. The rest he tosses aside. He folds all but one of the sheets up and puts them into his jacket. He puts the remaining one back into the envelope and hands it to Jacqueline, who looks confused. “An extra gift from me” Cohen tells Jacqueline. Jacqueline, cautious, takes the envelope and folds it up and puts it inside her clothing. She then asks if they’re done here and Cohen nods. As Jacqueline trudges off, Cohen shouts after him “I look forward to our encore! I’m sure we’ll both have some new material!” before degenerating into fits of laughter.

 

Jacqueline takes the transport tube to Hephaestus. Jacqueline negotiates her way through a series of ring levels surrounding a geothermal power system. A challenge comes when a Big Daddy aggressively assaults him. Though outgunned, Jacqueline is able to use trickery to activate a geothermal steam vent that bursts onto the Big Daddy, supercooking it. The charred and broiled Big Daddy slumps to the floor dead. Jacqueline then converts the nearby Little Sister back into a girl. The girl takes Jacqueline by the hand and leads her to an office before scampering into an air vent. In the office, Jacqueline finds an audio diary from the chief engineer of Hephaestus that says that Ryan has barricaded himself inside his office complex and that only a power failure will unseal the electromagnetic locks. To do that the chief engineer had constructed a crude EMP and his last words indicate he went to set it off. Jacqueline contacts Atlas over the radio and tells him about the method. Atlas chuckles and tells Jacqueline to avoid breaking the whole damn city.

 

Searching, Jacqueline comes across the chief engineer’s body, but no sign of the EMP. She then sees however a blood trail leading from a closed door that is locked. Jacqueline is able to get the door open and finds the EMP. Jacqueline is able to lug the EMP device to near one of the three power cores in Hephaestus and, after a brief shootout with some Splicers, activates the arming sequence. Jacqueline rushes behind cover and soon enough the EMP discharges, shutting down the power core. The sudden loss of one of Rapture’s three power cores causes the locking system to fail. Jacqueline goes to the entrance to Ryan’s headquarters and opens the door. He steps inside, looking unsure.

 

Inside, Jacqueline goes a short distance and arrives into a large monitoring room, with lots of video screens. Jacqueline looks around, trying to find something of value, when suddenly Andrew Ryan’s face appears on a screen. Ryan in a monologue laments that things have ended up this way and says that as much as he wants to protect his work “now that I see you in the flesh, I know I cannot raise my hand against you. But know this: you are my greatest disappointment.” Ryan’s voice grows angry and shouts to Atlas that though Atlas may kill him, Atlas will never get his city, since every builder knows that there comes a time to destroy. A rumble shakes Rapture and emergency lighting comes on as more rumbles sound in the distance. Ryan says that there is one final thing to discuss and asks Jacqueline to come see him in person. The screen cuts off. Jacqueline contacts Atlas, who is aware of the rumblings, and he tells Jacqueline that Ryan has activated a self-destruct. “Now would you kindly get in there and kill the man before the whole place goes up!” Atlas shouts over the radio, spurring Jacqueline to locate an air vent that leads past a blocked door.

 

Jacqueline drops down into a small antechamber. It is dimly lit but Jacqueline sees that an entire wall is plastered with tons of photos that show people, places, and things. One photo shows Atlas. Another photo shows Tenenbaum. A third shows an Asian doctor (Han) Jacqueline doesn’t recognize. Jacqueline steps back and sees that across the wall, in red paint and large letters, are the words “Would You Kindly.” Confused, Jacqueline steps forward and finds a picture of Tenenbaum with a young child of about two years old. Jacqueline suddenly starts breathing heavily, looking as if in shock.

 

Jacqueline is a baby in a crib, gurgling happily at Tenenbaum, who somehow looks only a couple years younger. Tenenbaum smiles at him and says she’s such a strong girl but he needs to get stronger. She injects something into his arm and Jacqueline cries in pain, but Tenenbaum soothes him, saying he needs it to grow.

 

Jacqueline is now a toddler and is playing with toys. Tenenbaum and the Asian doctor come in and give her a puppy. Jacqueline happily plays with the puppy as Tenenbaum and the Asian doctor converse in the background, Tenenbaum referring to him as “Suchong.” Tenenbaum grows displeased with the conversation and eventually leaves the room as Suchong observes Jacqueline.

 

Jacqueline now looks eight years old and is with with her puppy, which has aged only a handful of months, when Suchong enters. Jacqueline asks for Tenenbaum, who she calls “Miss T” but is told she won’t be around anymore. Suchong asks Jacqueline if she likes the dog and Jacqueline says he loves it. Suchong says that is good and tells Jacqueline to break the puppy’s neck. Jacqueline refuses and Suchong insists repeatedly, until he says “Jacqueline would you kindly break the puppy’s neck.” The camera stays on Suchong as we hear in the background a snap of a neck and then Jacqueline sobbing. Suchong goes to the corner of the room when an obscured man is and tells him that “It works.”

 

Jacqueline looks utterly lost and exits the antechamber into the chamber beyond, where Andrew Ryan waits.

 

The following scene is a very close replication of the linked video (with traditional cinema perspective replacing the game’s first person view). Watch from 0:31 to 3:41.

 

Jacqueline stands over Ryan’s body, stunned. Then she grabs the genetic key from Ryan’s corpse and rushes into Ryan’s quarters, where a control computer is running the self-destruct sequence. Jacqueline uses the key to shut the sequence down and removes the firewall, allowing Atlas to access it. “Ah very good, very good” Atlas says over the radio, sounding thrilled. “It took me so long to get this to happen, so much patience and waiting for things to ripen. But now everything is perfect.” Jacqueline, a bit confused, watches as the screen shows Atlas effectively taking over the control systems for Rapture. “So what happens now?” Jacqueline asks. Atlas laughs and says “Now? Well now I guess comes the time for proper introductions, the name is Frank Fontaine, and you’ve been quite useful, almost better than I could have hoped for. But like all tools, there comes a time where you gotta throw them away.” Jacqueline backs away, recognizing the name. Suddenly a few security drones, now under Fontaine’s control, buzz into the chamber and attack Jacqueline. She fends them off but more are on the way. Jacqueline looks unsure of what to do when he hears a girl’s voice shout “over here!” She turns to see Sister, poking out of an air vent waving at her. Jacqueline rushes over to follow her through it as more drones arrive, a couple bullets tearing into her left leg. In pain, Jacqueline stumbles through the vent and tumbles down a slope until he smacks into a concrete floor, where he fades into unconsciousness.

 

Jacqueline wakes up in what looks like a dormitory and explores the area to find that she’s in some sort of orphanage, with a number of converted Little Sisters running around. Tenenbaum appears and asks how Jacqueline is feeling, and Jacqueline says she isn’t sure. Tenenbaum says that’s a start and asks her along. She takes him to her lab, saying that she’s been able to make the place safe for the “saved” Little Sisters but it won’t truly be safe until the forces tearing Rapture apart are gone. Andrew Ryan, for all of his objectivist idealism and blindness, was one. Frank Fontaine is another and with Ryan dead he is on the path to having total control. She says there are others but luckily, they don’t have to worry about them right now. Jacqueline is disgusted over what Fontaine has forced her to do and flashes of memories hit him. “I…I was his daughter” Jacqueline says, referring to Ryan, and Tenenbaum nods. She explains that Ryan got a woman pregnant and Fontaine was able to fake the woman’s death to hide her long enough to steal the newborn, who he subjected to radical gene therapy. Tenenbaum, looking ashamed, says that she was with Fontaine in the beginning, since she believed that Ryan was stifling things, but she had no idea how far Fontaine was willing to go. Jacqueline says that for now she needs to get to Fontaine. “To kill him?” Tenenbaum asks. “For answers” he replies.

 

We see Jacqueline and Tenenbaum going over schematics of Rapture. Tenenbaum says that while Jacqueline was unconscious she was able to de-program some of the conditioning Fontaine and others put in her head, but she didn’t get everything. Jacqueline needs to go to Olympus Heights, to the apartment of Dr. Li Suchong, who was a geneticist in Rapture who worked with Fontaine in “creating” Jacqueline. If Jacqueline is lucky he might be able to find records of Suchong’s work. Jacqueline asks if there is any further help Tenenbaum can provide and she says she can have the converted Little Sisters use the vent systems to leave her aid. Jacqueline goes to leave and Tenenbaum calls out one final thing. She tells Jacqueline that Fontaine will try to use information against Jacqueline to try and turn her onto his side. “So whatever he tells you about me” she says, “I want you to know that it’ll probably be true. But I’m doing my best to atone.” Jacqueline replies “So am I.”

 

Before Jacqueline leaves the safe area, she approaches several of the saved Little Sisters, one of whom is Sister. She thanks her for saving her and she says she saved her first so she wanted to help. She asks if she is going to stay with them and Jacqueline replies that she has to go and do something that will help them. Sister tells her to be careful and awkwardly gives her a hug. Jacqueline says she will and promises she’ll come back when he’s done.

 

Jacqueline journeys to Olympus Heights, which was an exclusive residential community, Tenenbaum’s schematics enabling her to avoid Splicer patrols. After a minute of sneaking he gets contacted on her radio. It is Fontaine. “So Mother Goose helped you out after all” Fontaine says snidely. He tries to convince Jacqueline that Tenenbaum is on the losing side and Jacqueline will only get her and all her “pretty little girls” killed if he continues. Jacqueline gets angry and answers back that Fontaine is a coward who hides while others do his work for him. Fontaine says if he can get a job done with no risk to himself, it’s the smart play. Fontaine says that Jacqueline can save herself and get a ride home if he kills Tenenbaum. Jacqueline replies that isn’t going to happen, so Fontaine signs off in a huff. Jacqueline sighs and continues to walk towards Suchong’s place.

 

Jacqueline, breathing heavily, reaches Suchong’s apartment and is directed to an air vent by one of Tenenbaum’s girls. Inside she finds a plasmid that acts as a chameleonic effect that allows her to blend into the surroundings. Using that, she is able to sneak into the building and reaches Suchong’s apartment, where she starts searching through the doctor’s belongings. He finds some interesting pictures and documents and starts leafing through them, as she reads them we get transported to flashbacks of a few scattered events between Tenenbaum, Fontaine, and Suchong discussing the “Jacqueline experiment” and how he is progressing.

 

Tenenbaum, Fontaine, and Suchong are all in a room talking about the “Jacqueline” infant. Suchong says finding the pregnancy was a stroke of luck. Fontaine says he made sure the woman seduced Ryan and got pregnant. Once she gave birth, she was a loose end. Fontaine praises the two scientists for their effort and says that soon Ryan will be removed. He tells Suchong to begin the gene acceleration therapy. Tenenbaum is concerned about negative side effects but Fontaine laughs and says “since when you have you worried about the welfare of children, Doctor?”

 

The scene changes to Tenenbaum and Suchong observing Jacqueline when she looks age five and playing with the puppy. Tenenbaum says she doesn’t think this is the best way to test the conditioning. Suchong says that while the conditioning can take hold for many simple actions, Fontaine wants Jacqueline to be so conditioned that she will do anything asked of him, even things she finds reprehensible. Suchong says that the dog will provide the best test, since young Jacqueline will grow to love the dog, and if he obeys the command to kill it, then he will obey any command. Tenenbaum nods, but looks unsure.

 

Tenenbaum enters an office to speak with Fontaine. Tenenbaum says she can’t do this work anymore and pleads with Fontaine to stop the experiment. Fontaine laughs and asks Tenenbaum if she got a conscience when no one was looking. He says he knows about her past, about the things she did in the concentration camps for the Nazis in order to survive. “You experimented on your own people, because you knew you had to do it to survive” he tells her. “Why else would you create the Little Sisters, turning girls into monsters, if not so this city could prosper?” Tenenbaum looks like she is wavering, but gathers her resolve and says that she wishes she could take those times back. Fontaine says he knows Tenenbaum will keep her mouth shut and stay hidden, since if she’s out in the open when Ryan learns of the truth he’ll kill her. He says a colder man would kill her for defying him, but once he takes the city, he’ll need good scientists to keep it going. Tenenbaum flees the room as Fontaine smiles.

 

Jacqueline grabs the documents and tries to sneak back out but she stumbles, knocking some things over. The noise alerts the Splicers and they start to fill the apartment with bullets and various plasmid attacks. Jacqueline starts running, which wears off the chameleon plasmid, and tries to fight back as she tries to get to a hiding place. She takes out a couple Splicers but the shockwave from a fireball hurls him into a wall. Suddenly help arrives in the form of other Splicers showing up who wipe out the first group. They surround Jacqueline, muttering softly to one another until their leader shows up: Sander Cohen. “My friend, you seem to have gotten yourself into more trouble” Sander says with a smirk. “Allow me to take you to some more accommodating surroundings.”

 

Jacqueline is escorted across Olympus Heights to Sander’s own apartment. Cohen sits down at a grand piano and plays a sonata while he and Jacqueline talk. Jacqueline asks what Cohen wants and Cohen smiles, saying that he was hoping they could do business again. Cohen says that the ripple effects of Ryan’s death are being felt through the city and lots of things that had lain dormant are beginning to stir. He tells Jacqueline that the struggle for Rapture won’t end when Fontaine goes down, it’ll just “take on a new tune.” Jacqueline asks who Cohen means and Cohen says that they’re not Jacqueline’s concern. Jacqueline asks why they’re Cohen’s concern and Cohen stops playing and gets up. He declares that Rapture was supposed to be a place of beauty, art, and creation but its purpose has been twisted. Jacqueline says he’s skeptical about Cohen’s ability to “untwist it.” Cohen laughs a little maniacally and says that Jacqueline shouldn’t trust him, but Jacqueline has no other options. He tells that he will give Jacqueline access to a way out of Rapture if Jacqueline gives him the documents he found in Suchong’s place. Cohen says that after all Jacqueline has done so far, Jacqueline could easily kill Cohen, so Cohen has every incentive to deal fairly. Jacqueline thinks for a few seconds and then agrees to the deal, handing over the documents, receiving a map from Cohen in return. When Jacqueline says she has no way to know where Fontaine is, Cohen laughs and says Jacqueline clearly didn’t remember his gift back at Fort Frolic. Jacqueline has a look of recognition and pulls out the envelope Cohen gave her in Fort Frolic. “You knew he’d betray me” Jacqueline says. Cohen replies “I knew Fontaine would be Fontaine.” Jacqueline walks towards the door. After he leaves, Cohen smiles and returns to playing his piano.

 

Jacqueline contacts Tenenbaum over the radio and says she’s learned some things about who she is and where Fontaine is hiding out. Tenenbaum says that is good and after a bit of silence tells Jacqueline that she is so sorry about what happened to her. Jacqueline says that it won’t be easy to forgive her, but she understands what she is doing now. Tenenbaum asks if there is anything she can do to aid her and Jacqueline tells her to keep the girls safe.

 

Jacqueline uses the bathysphere network and arrives at Fontaine’s stronghold, Point Prometheus. She encounters Fontaine in an atrium, Fontaine looking amused. Jacqueline says she knows what Fontaine did. Fontaine shrugs and says he did what was best for his future. He says that Jacqueline must know the power of ADAM by now, so Jacqueline should understand why Fontaine did it. Jacqueline says she understands all too well, and tells Fontaine that she will end this to free Rapture. Fontaine laughs and says Rapture will never be free, since someone will always be working to use its resources. Fontaine tells Jacqueline that he has a chance to unify Rapture now that Ryan is dead, and Jacqueline could profit from it. Jacqueline turns the offer down, saying she won’t be a puppet again. “As you wish” Fontaine says before using a plasmid to throw a slab of concrete from the floor at him. Jacqueline is knocked to the ground. “I will not be stopped” Fontaine says as he races to an elevator which seals behind him. Jacqueline is frustrated but is soon approached by someone. It is Sister. She says that she has followed Jacqueline and wants to help her. Jacqueline asks how she can help and Sister says that the “bad man” went to the far end of Point Prometheus, but there is a second way there: through the Big Daddy Proving Grounds, where newly made Big Daddies are tested. She can guide Jacqueline through it. Jacqueline says she doesn’t want to endanger her, but Sister tells him that “Miss T says that if the bad man isn’t stopped, all of us will go back to being what we were before. I don’t want to go back.” Jacqueline nods and tells her to lead the way.

 

Sister takes Jacqueline to an armory of sorts and tells her that the door to the Proving Grounds only opens for Big Daddies, so she’ll have to disguise herself as one. Jacqueline is able to cobble together a Big Daddy suit and when fully in grumbles a bit about how it feels. “But living in one would be worse” she admits. Sister leads her to the Proving Grounds and they enter. It is quiet as they move through a run-down natural history museum. The two hear the sound of shrieking from Splicers. A frantic fight ensues as a small horde of Splicers emerge and assault Jacqueline, and one another in a frenzy. Because they’re fighting one another as well, Jacqueline is able to use her weapons and his armor suit strength to smash Splicers as Sister hides. The two then move on and come across a Big Daddy on its own. Sister says it’ll ignore them if it thinks Jacqueline is a Big Daddy, but if not it will attack to “protect” her. The Big Daddy studies Jacqueline for a moment and then emits a metallic wail and charges. Jacqueline charges too and we are treated to a Big-Daddy-vs.-Big Daddy duel with lots of armored punches and combat moves as they tussle in the hall. Eventually they wind up on an upper floor promenade and Jacqueline is able to toss the Big Daddy over the railing and the Big Daddy flails until it smashes into the ground. Jacqueline scoops up Sister and she directs her to the final portion of the Proving Grounds, which has an elevator to Point Prometheus. Jacqueline exits the Big Daddy suit and thanks Sister for her help. Sister gives Jacqueline an ADAM injector “just in case.” She wishes her luck and scampers into an air vent as Jacqueline enters the elevator.

 

Jacqueline exits the elevator and walks to a large chamber. It is full of equipment and in the middle is a platform where Fontaine is strapped in, lots of tubes connected to his body filled ADAM. “Fitting it ends this way” Fontaine tells him. “Now you get to see the future of Rapture.” He pushes a button and all of the ADAM gets injected into his body, causing Fontaine’s body to pulse and stretch and grow until Fontaine looks like a tall, muscular, roided-out freak. Super-powered by ADAM, Fontaine is able to use lots and lots of plasmid attacks on Jacqueline as well as be strong, fast, etc. Jacqueline fights back but she is clearly outmatched by Fontaine. After a bit, Fontaine is able to charge Jacqueline and tackle him. He grabs Jacqueline by the neck and lifts him up. “When I last saw you, after we wiped your memory, I actually felt sad” Fontaine tells Jacqueline. “You were almost like a child to me, raising you for your destiny…almost.” Jacqueline squirms and in desperation sticks the injector into Fontaine. Fontaine screams and drops Jacqueline as ADAM gets ripped from his body. Jacqueline gets up and backs off as Fontaine, visibly weakened, clutches at his wound before charging again. The next round of the fight goes on, with Fontaine weaker but still stronger than Jacqueline as they trade attacks. Jacqueline is able to cause an explosion that shrouds the area in smoke and she uses that opportunity to use his camouflage plasmid to hide herself. The smoke clears and Fontaine is unable to locate Jacqueline. He taunts Jacqueline for being a coward and says that when he’s done he’s going to turn all of the nice Little Sister friends back into the monsters they were. Jacqueline has used this time to climb up onto some scaffolding and leaps down onto Fontaine, stabbing him with the injector and withdrawing more ADAM. Fontaine again screams but flings Jacqueline across the chamber. The impact stuns Jacqueline and she is helpless to move as a weaker Fontaine stumbles towards him. “I created you, built you up from nothing!” Fontaine says. “I showed you how capable you could be, and you throw it all away for what!” Jacqueline, unable to get up, sees several former Little Sisters exiting an air vent and Fontaine doesn’t notice. The former Little Sisters have their own injectors and they assault Fontaine, simultaneously extracting ADAM from him. Fontaine wails in helpless fury as he collapses to the ground, the former Little Sisters stabbing repeatedly as the screen fades to black.

 

The scene changes to Jacqueline returning to Tenenbaum’s with the girls and tells her Fontaine is dead. Tenenbaum is relieved and asks Jacqueline what she will do. Jacqueline says she has found a way to leave Rapture and invites Tenenbaum and all of her girls to come with him. Tenenbaum declines, saying there are many Little Sisters who still need to be saved and there are others who will fight for Rapture now that Ryan and Fontaine have fallen. She tells Jacqueline to never come back to this place. Jacqueline agrees and looks a bit awkwardly at Tenenbaum and finally says she doesn’t know whether to curse her for the things she did to her or forgive her because of the help she’s done. Tenenbaum softly replies that she should do both. The two shake hands and Jacqueline turns to leave. Tenenbaum sadly watches Jacqueline leave and says to herself “but I don’t deserve forgiveness.”

 

Jacqueline finds Sister and asks her if she would like to leave with him. Sister’s eyes go wide and she asks if they can go on an adventure. Jacqueline smiles and says they can go anywhere she wants. The two walk out of the safehouse, holding hands, and Jacqueline asks Sister what her name is. Sister thinks for a moment and says it used to be Jenny. Jacqueline says that’s a pretty name and the two end up at a bathysphere that leaves Rapture and ascends to the ocean surface, where it emerges next to the lighthouse. Jacqueline takes Jenny and swims with her to the island, Jenny in awe by the sun, sky, everything that she’s never seen before. The two sit on the lighthouse island and watch as rescue boats appear on the horizon, on their way to the site of the plane crash.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2018 by 4815162342

[cookie]

THE SCAVENGER WARS

Quote

In the far future humanity survives drifting through the universe in city-size spaceships until a disastrous encounter with an alien race called the Scavengers results in a devastating tragedy leading to a decades long war between humanity and the Scavengers. Twenty years later and following the election of the militant fascist Grand Admiral Packer physiologically enhanced siblings Joel and Kira are left adrift, Joel especially. Their lives change when they befriend Scavenger princess Tamara who plead for their aid in bringing peace to the conflict between humanity and the Scavengers once and for all and stopping Packer from executing a plan that would lead to the extermination of both races.

 

Studio: Cookie Pictures

Genre: Sci-fi / Epic

Directors: Matt & Ross Duffer

Producers: Sebastian Peters, Joaquim Dos Santos

Cinematographer: Steve Yedlin

Composer: James Newton Howard

Original Song: "Light the Fire" by Lorde

Release Date: July 19th

Format: 2D, IMAX 2D

IMAX: Select sequences filmed with IMAX cameras in 1.43:1 aspect ratio

Theater Count: 4,115

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action, language, smoking, drug use, some sexuality and crude humor

Budget: $225 million

Running time: 162 minutes (2 hours, 42 minutes)

 

Cast:

Daniel Henney as Joel, a veteran infused with Pallasyne

Naomi Scott as Kira, Joel's sister also infused with Pallasyne

Harry Lennix as Commander Jonathan Barks, Joel and Kira's adoptive father

Jason Isaacs as Grand Admiral James T. Packer, the militaristic leader of the Human Federation

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Captain Lucina, the dashing captain of H.F.F Milky Way and Jonathan's superior

David Mazouz as Henry Quartz, an up-and-coming tech genius who aids the main trio on their quest

Laurence Fishburne as Captain Radian Helms, captain of H.F.F Seyfert and one of Jonathan's colleagues

Happy Anderson as Dr. Valden De Kloet, a disgraced H.F.F scientist that created the Pallasyne serum

 

Voice/Performance Capture:

Letitia Wright as Tamara, the crown princess of Khouga

Keegan-Michael Key (voice only) as T-Bot, a tiny space rover that gained sentience thanks to Henry

Terry Notary as Reese, a tall, slim cyclopean robot that communicates through digital noises

Forest Whitaker as King Te'Chek, the monarch of planet Khouga and Tamara's father

Ricky Whittle as Re'Ziak, a Khouga high noble that is betrothed to Tamara

 

Minor Roles/Cameos:

 

Liam Cunningham as Captain Mannheim
Jane Lynch as Isla O'Connor
Marwan Kenzari (performance capture) as Be'Tram
David Harbour as Gruber
Michelle Yeoh as Captain Juan
Cliff Curtis as Captain Hebert
Holly Hunter as Captain Hemphill
Paul Raiser as Captain Plains
Brittanny Snow as Woman in the bar
Jennifer Lawrence as Caller

 

Plot: USE THIS LINK INSTEAD

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oLHNR2HrnpYy617h33qA0aPEu0VvQLN3OlEvg2p3XLc/edit?usp=sharing

 

DON'T READ THIS VERSION

 

In the far future, humanity survives in space…

We open to the Cookie Pictures studio logo with outer space as its backdrop, before the camera tilts downwards to show a seemingly desolate desert planet. Instead of moving further towards the planet, we instead focus on a seemingly massive shadow of a ship crossing over it. We tilt upwards again to show a gigantic, dreadnought-style ship (with a massive fin on its back so it almost looks like a whale) the size of Manhattan cruising past. We begin focusing in on that ship, showing gigantic, skyscraper tall letters reading “Andromeda” with the H.F.F (Humanity Federation Fleet) insignia, itself as tall as a high-rise building, carved on its side. We get a few peeks inside Andromeda, a sleek looking futuristic city with one long strip of water and greenery in the middle to break up the monotony. Right in the center of this huge city is a tall fountain with depictions of seemingly important human figures from years past (none we’d recognize). There’s not too many people (or alien creatures) walking about though as the ship is entering a special “night mode” (gigantic overhead lights are sealed off with massive moving plates so the only light left is the one emanating from the dwarf star in the center of the solar system) and people begin making their way back home. We fly across the various high-rise condos populating the city, as luxury appears to be the standard of living in this place (even single-parent families live in sleek penthouses with robotic home equipment helping them out).

We move to the front of the ship, the command center located at the ship’s nose. There, in a half-circular sleek command deck, we are introduced to the ship’s captain, Willfried Mannheim (played by Liam Cunningham) and his second-in-command commander Jonathan Barks (a de-aged Harry Lennix). They get a call from their superior, the H.F.F Grand Admiral - in this world, basically the President - James Terrell Packer (a de-aged Jason Isaacs). Packers appears a bit boastful of himself, reminding the two of his successful election even as Mannheim points out that it was six months ago at this point, before he explains why he called.

Packer: I’m reading here that you missed your rendezvous with Pinwheel at 1700, is there a problem?
Barks: We ran into a minor engine malfunction near Kepler-184, so me and the captain unilaterally suggested we park near the planetary orbit of K-184d. The issue at hand should be resolved in a day’s ti-
Mannheim: We’ll be back on course within six hours, admiral.
Barks: Wait, what-
Packer: I hope so, captain. You wouldn’t want to miss your own retirement party, do you?
Mannheim: Not for anything in the universe, admiral.
Barks: Admiral, the timeframe the captain’s suggesting is a little optimi-
Packer: ...How are they doing?
Mannheim: Leela told me Alex still has a bit of a cold but he’s getting better. He says he can’t wait to see dad again.
Packer: …Yeah… I’ll order Seyfert to rendezvous with you at 0600. Be there. ...Packer out. [ends video feed]
Mannheim: He’s gonna try and get Helms out of bed that early? Good luck with that.
Barks: Captain, six hours is stretching it. We haven’t even found the root of the malfunction yet.
Mannheim: Well, we have six hours to find out. I don’t want to dent my spotless track record on my last cruise. Once you’re in my position, you’d want to do the same.
Barks: ...Wait, are you.. Did you just...?

Mannheim opens up a cabinet and takes out an indigo-colored folder and hands it to Barks. He finger points to everyone in the command bay to turn their attention to them.

Mannheim: As a thank you for many years of service, I’ve decided to hand you the keys to the kingdom. I wanted it to be a surprise, but there’s probably not enough time to discuss it once we get to the rendezvous.
Barks: …
Mannheim: ...You’re awfully quiet.
Barks: I… I… I don’t even know what to say, I didn’t think I’d ever… Y-you sure you have enough votes behind this?
Mannheim: Well, Helms is a given, the rest should come around to it. Packer wouldn’t let any random person have their hands on the shining star of the H.F.F but I know he trusts my word. So, barring any disaster… congratulations, Captain Barks.

Barks is given a round of applause by everyone in the command bay. He tries to stutter out a thank you to the captain, but few words come out. Once the applauses cease, Mannheim informs everyone he’s referring command to Barks while he heads to the engine bay to investigate the malfunction, even inviting Barks to sit in his chair since “it’ll soon be his chair regardless”. Mannheim leaves and Barks slowly slides into the captain’s chair. An assistant asks Barks if he’d like anything on the captain’s menu, and he jokingly asks for a Tequila. The peace and quiet doesn’t last for long as the command bay is suddenly alerted of a foreign ship in their vicinity. Barks asks his subordinates to bring up a live feed, and we cut outside Andromeda to show live cameras moving to position.

Barks: ...What is that? Is it from K-184d?
Lieutenant: Tracking data suggests it is, capt- sorry, commander.
Barks: But… K-184d is inhabited? News to me. Why did we park here, then?
Lieutenant: We sent out a signal but got no response, the captain thought the planet was uninhabited too.
Barks: ...Keep thrusters ready. Could be hostile.

We cut briefly to Andromeda’s observation deck where a crowd of people have gathered to see the relatively tiny spaceship hovering in the far distance. Barks asks the lieutenant to turn on the universal translator and attempt to make contact with the ship.

Barks: This is captai- urgh, commander Barks of H.F.F Andromeda. If we’ve entered your territory without permission it was not our intention. I only ask to speak with any superior on board your vessel.

No response. Suddenly two more, slightly larger ships emerge from behind the first one.

Barks: ...Raise all available shields, now!
Lieutenant: Raising shields, sir.

Down in the engine bay, Mannheim notices that the shields (giant armor plates that extend from the engine bays on both sides and cover each side of the ship) are being raised, which leaves him confused. Up in the command center, Barks and everyone else see the first ship suddenly vanishing out of sight. A lieutenant brings up the radar which shows two dots being stationary and one dot hopping all over the place. From the observatory all everyone sees is a white line jumping back and forth in some strange pattern. Back in the engine bay, an engineer runs up to Mannheim to deliver more troubling news.

Engineer: Sir, we’re detecting an extreme spike in hyperdrive radiation within a thousand-mile radius…
Mannheim: ...Hyperdrive radiation?! From where?!

The first ship reappears in line with the two others. A white light starts emanating from it with great intensity. Cut to a dolly zoom of Barks’ horrified face.

Barks: ...Oh my God.

Andromeda is spontaneously impaled by a streak of light which hit right through the ship’s engine compartment, resulting the shield plates and engine parts being flung thousands of miles away in a fraction of second.

Barks trips. All he can hear is a loud ringing in his ear. All the alarms go off and people scramble about, but all he can still hear is the ringing. The assistant from before rushes over to him and lifts him up as he regains his hearing. He asks the lieutenant to contact the engine bay, but all lines are dead. They find a still operating surveillance camera which shows the massive hole in the ship’s hull in the engine bay. The main engines are destroyed, and Mannheim, even if he survived the attack, would’ve been ejected into the vacuum of space upon impact. Barks is informed that the emergency thrusters are still functional however, and as long as they use those to steer away from K-184d’s gravitational pull they can stay afloat long enough to be rescued by the other ships. Down in the city it is chaos. The impact had caused a massive tremor leading to a city-wide fire breaking out on the starboard side of the ship.

 

We cut to H.F.F Seyfert a few solar systems away where its captain, Radian Helms (a de-aged Laurence Fishburne) lies snoring in bed. He’s awakened by a video call from Barks. Helms grumbles at Barks for waking him up but sobers quick when he sees the Andromeda crew running around in circles. Barks patches Helms to the video feed they have of the engine bay and hastily explains what had happened.

 

Helms: How did this happen?! Where’s Captain Mannheim?!

Barks: Radian… [ pants ] Mannheim’s dead…

Helms: [ long pause ] ...Is she still spaceborne?

Barks: For now but we need Seyfert here, quick!

Helms: I’ll be right on it! [ opens another video feed showing Helms second-in-command ] Commander, we need to engage hyperdrive protocol, stat!

[ back to Andromeda ]

Assistant: C-c-commander…

Barks: What is it?!

 

Bark’s assistant, with a look of horror on her face, points to one of the two enemy ships suddenly engaging it’s thrusters and speeding towards Andromeda at full speed.

 

Barks: Where are our cannons?! We need to fire at it!

Lieutenant: The cannons were wired to the engine bay, sir! The preceding strike disabled them!

Barks: ...They knew where to hit us.

 

The attacking vessel, a bulky, destroyer-type ship, fast approaches Andromeda while the other ship, shaped like a hammerhead, begins circling them. With the emergency thrusters not being able to turn Andromeda in time, Barks screams at everyone to brace for impact. The destroyer rams right into the port side of the ship and pierces its main hull, causing even more destruction and vacuum-sucking inside the city. Barks engages an emergency protocol that raises massive walls between the two halves of the city (separated by the water strip in the middle) and saves the starboard side, but the port side is already lost to the vacuum. The hammerhead ship emerges on starboard side and rams it, not in a way that pierces it but allows the hammerhead to push Andromeda towards the planet. Barks is informed that the emergency thrusters won’t be enough to pull Andromeda away from K-184d’s gravitational pull. Everyone in the command center turns to a sweating Barks, awaiting any order from him.

 

Barks: How long do we have?

Lieutenant: Computer estimates one hour before Andromeda enters K-184d’s atmosphere...

Everyone: …

Barks: ...Abandon ship.

 

Barks engages evacuation protocol and asks his lieutenant if anyone’s been dispatched to Block 26-C (where Leela and Alex are) but the lieutenant says nobody hasn’t since most of the military personnel were stationed on the port side which is already destroyed. Barks tells him to lead the emergency procedures as he rushes out of the command bay. Speaking of the port side, multiple tiny ships emerge out of the destroyer and rendezvous with the hammerhead on starboard side. They then begin executing their own assaults on the ship.

 

We cut to Packer, sitting at his desk on H.F.F Hoag (the H.F.F ship that acts as the fleet’s military base and government center). He’s first informed of Seyfert engaging hyperdrive protocol for an unexplained reason, which confuses him, and then he’s alerted of Andromeda’s distress call. His face visibly turns pale.

 

Assistant: ...Admiral?

Packer: ...Get every available cruiser to Andromeda’s coordinates, NOW!!!

 

Barks meanwhile is navigating the burning city that is Andromeda’s starboard. He’s halted in his path when he sees figures in unfamiliar spacesuits boarding the ship, brandishing firearms. He chooses to hide behind rubble as he sees civilians running up to the figures thinking they’re there to help only watch them being gunned down. Carrying only a small pistol he figures he can’t fight them alone and decides to head for 26-C instead hoping a larger force will come along to combat them. He locates 26-C, one of the tall condos near the center of the city, and to his horror sees that it’s toppled over and crashed into the tower beside it. He still ascends the tilted staircase and reaches the top floor where Leela’s apartment is and breaks through the door. The apartment is completely destroyed and covered in rubble, and Barks soon discovers a small white child’s lifeless hand peeking out. He lifts the rubble with all his strength, and we don’t see what he finds, but his devastated reaction tells us enough. With nothing left to do here, he decides to head to the evacuation pods. A few floors down he suddenly stops when he hears what sounds like soft sobbing coming from one of the apartments. He makes his way there and discovers hiding under a bed are two frightened children, one boy and one girl, age ten and five respectively, huddled together as the boy tries to keep the girl from making any noise. Barks looks around sees two lifeless bodies just past the bed and stains of blood splattered on the wall. He then reaches his hand out to the two children.

 

Barks: It’s okay… It’s okay… You can come out, I’m not here to hurt you…

Girl: M-m-monster…

Barks: I know you’re afraid, but it’s okay… You’re safe now…

Girl: MONSTER!!!

 

Suddenly Barks is grabbed by someone from behind and thrown across the room. The two children crawl back under the bed as Barks discovers it’s one of the mysterious invaders branding a sharp knife. The invader lunges at him but Barks blocks the assault with a loose piece from the headboard and counters with a table lamp, knocking the invader’s knife and helmet away. The invader turns back to him and is revealed to be a humanoid bug hybrid brandishing wood-like scales on the sides of its head and body. The invader glares intensely at him before spitting blood from its mouth.

 

Barks: ...You are one ugly mother-

 

The invader screeches at him, pounds Barks in the face and then throws him across the bed before leaping at him leading into a violent brawl between the two. The two kids are still hiding under the bed as the girl screams and cries, but the boy sees the invader’s knife and grabs it. Barks rushes at his opponent and forces him out of the bedroom as the fight continues in the kitchen. Barks grabs a few kitchen appliances and whacks the invader across the face with them multiple times, before said invader counters by slamming Barks’ head against the cabinet. The fight keeps going until the invader starts showcasing near superhuman strength and flips an entire kitchen table over and throws it right at Barks. Now trapped under the table with the invader pressing against it, the invader leans over and grabs his head attempting to crush it. At the last possible second, the invader is stabbed right through the chest from behind with his own knife by the boy, spraying a bit of his blood across Barks’ face. The invader then falls over dead. Barks pushes himself free and sees the boy, still holding the knife in his hand and staring at the dead invader with murderous eyes. He convinces the boy to drop the knife and finds the girl has crawled out of the hiding spot. He lifts the girl up and leads the two children out of the apartment block, successfully escaping just before the support base to 26-C gives way and the tower collapses completely.

 

He comes across more invaders shooting up the place, but he and the children manage to sneak around them. They reach the evacuation bay as his lieutenant is there readying the last batch of escape pods for launch.

 

Lieutenant: Are these the last of them, commander?

Barks: [ pants ] I don’t know, I think we should go back and check-

 

They’re all startled by a massive explosion going off downtown, decimating dozens of apartment buildings in one fell swoop. They also hear loud rumblings from the ship as they fear that it’s about to tear itself apart. Barks looks at the two roughed up, bloodstained children and tells the lieutenant to ready the pod for them. Barks’ pod becomes one of the last to leave the sinking Andromeda as the hammerhead forces it into K-184d’s upper atmosphere. He looks back as the once mighty ship begins its descent towards the planet. The H.F.F Seyfert arrives through hyperdrive at that moment, and Helms immediately orders his crew to fire at the hammerhead ship, obliterating it within seconds. The other H.F.F ships; Pinwheel, Sunflower, Mayall, Hoag and Milky Way, all soon arrive to assist. Barks looks back at Andromeda through the pod window, watching it be torn in two and later several pieces as it begins its flaming descent. He turns away, trying to hold himself from breaking into tears, and the camera follows him as he looks down and sees the two children cradling in his arms. Trying to distract them from the horrors they had all just witnessed, he asks each of them for their name. The boy says his name is Joel, and the girl says her name is Kira. We cut to Packer, Helms and the other captains reacting to Andromeda’s sinking, Packer clenching his fist in a mix of despair and rage.

 

Barks and the children are brought on board the H.F.F Sunflower (since it has the best medical facilities of the remaining fleet) and Packer meets them at the docking bay. Barks locks eyes with the admiral, Packer clearly looking like he expected some other people to be with him. Barks tries to look the other way, leaving it to Packer to slowly dawn on him that a certain pair didn't make it out.

 

We turn away from the H.F.F ships as they all depart through hyperdrive warp and pan towards K-184d. We see down on the surface, inter midst the vast desert, is a valley surrounded by mountains and covered in gorgeous pink and red flowers. It’s nighttime, and a young girl of the same alien species Barks fought earlier is running along the field before she stops and looks up at the sky to see what she thinks is a falling star. However, reflected in her eyes, we see the remains of Andromeda plummeting towards the earth.

 

TWENTY YEARS LATER

 

A grown-up Joel wakes up, sporting a thick beard and panting and sweating profusely. His hands begin to shake so he quickly reaches for a bag next to his bed and takes out a package which contains a whole bunch of syringes. He takes one of them out, containing some strange yellow liquid, and he sticks the needle in his neck which seems to calm himself down. He falls back into bed and stares up at the roof of his crummy apartment for a while. Then, seeing what time it is, he forces himself out of bed. He picks up his phone (which is able to display holographic imagery). He notices someone had left a message, and he plays it to hear a female voice speaking (voice cameo by Jennifer Lawrence).

 

Caller: Hi Joel, it’s… it’s me. I’m sorry I haven’t called. I felt like… uh… I needed some time to think things through and… I don’t think this is working. I feel like… we’re almost from separate worlds, you know. Normally I’d be fine with that, but… I just can’t handle something like that right now. I know things’ve been hard for you, and they’ve been hard for me too… but I hope you understand. You’re probably going to send me like a million messages after hearing this, and… I ask you, please don’t. ...Goodbye, Joel.

 

The message ends. Joel mouths a profanity and strokes his face in frustration. He looks at the clock again. It’s close to noon. On his digital calendar, it reads he’s scheduled something with a person called Isla at 1 P.M.

 

 

* (0:00) Joel walks to his bathroom and stares into a broken mirror. We cut ahead a bit to show him having put shaving lotion on and attempting to shave himself with a hunting knife. *

 

COOKIE PICTURES PRESENTS

 

* (0:14) The shaving doesn’t go as smoothly as planned, for Joel cuts his cheek and a drip of rather darkly colored blood drips into his sink. *

 

* (0:22) After patching up the wound and getting dressed, he walks over to a digital notepad where on it it says “days without losing control” and tally marks up to forty-seven. He adds another mark. *

 

A MATT & ROSS DUFFER FILM

 

* (0:38) After strapping a backpack on, he walks towards the door, but stops before reaching the handle, instead choosing for an unspecified reason to climb out his apartment window *

 

* (0:48) The film’s title appears after Joel climbs out and exits the shot *

 

THE SCAVENGER WARS

 

* (0:55) We transition to a long tracking shot of Joel walking on top of pipes, some of them leaking steam, as a large indoor Blade Runner-esque urban cityscape is revealed behind him. We briefly see the insignia of the H.F.F Milky Way plastered on one of the pipes *

 

DANIEL HENNEY

 

* (1:03) The tracking shot continues as Joel walks along the pipes which take him across several rooftops. *

NAOMI SCOTT

 

* (1:15) Having seemingly little care for invading others spaces, he tramples over plants an alien had placed on his balcony. *

 

LETITIA WRIGHT

 

* The alien sees the damage and turns around to flip him off, only to back off when he sees who it is. *

 

MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD

 

* (1:23) Instead of climbing down the ladder leading from the rooftop to an alleway, Joel simply leaps down several stories, lands on the ground as if he didn’t just pull off an inhuman feat and continues walking out into a crowded street. *

 

HARRY LENNIX

 

* (1:31) He squeezes his way through the crowd, which is a mix of humans of all colors and types and a seemingly infinite number of alien species *

 

KEEGAN MICHAEL-KEY

 

* Most humans seem to ignore Joel, but he gets more than a few glares from some of the aliens he pushes his way past. *

 

DAVID MAZOUZ

 

* (1:38) He reaches a port of some sort, but not before walking past a few H.F.F propaganda posters telling humans to stay vigilant and including phrases like “Remember Andromeda” *

 

RICKY WHITTLE

 

HAPPY ANDERSON

 

* (1:48) He looks at a scheduling board which reads “Approaches” with the names of the other five H.F.F ships and times listed on them. The next “approach” appears to be Pinwheel *

 

TERRY NOTARY

 

* (1:56) Joel walks past a large port window and sure enough we see Pinwheel in close proximity to Milky Way *

 

* (2:03) We cut to a shot of hundreds of bus-sized ships trafficking between Milky Way and Pinwheel. Joel is on one of those ships, holding on to a handle while like before humans ignore him and non-humans appear suspecting of him. *

 

With FOREST WHITAKER

 

* (2:11) An alien child sees a black stream peeking out of Joel’s shirt on his arm. She reacts by tightening her grip to her parent’s hand. We cut to a brief shot of Joel’s face, who remains apathetic to him being stared at. *

 

LAURENCE FISHBURNE

 

* (2:18) The ship arrives at Pinwheel’s port, which is next to a massive fan shaped like that of a pinwheel. Joel leaves the ship and just keeps on trotting. *
 

and JASON ISAACS

 

* (2:26) More propaganda posters line up the walls, including campaign ads telling people to vote for Grand Admiral Packer *

 

WRITTEN BY MATT & ROSS DUFFER

 

* (2:34) Leaving the port, much of Pinwheel appears to be made of farmland, as people are seen growing genetically engineered crops. Joel snatches a pair of fruit without the farmer noticing, but throws the fruit away after tasting it and finding it unsatisfactory. *

 

STORY BY SEBASTIAN PETERS

 

* More Pinwheel insignia are seen, including a few planted across the farmland (since there’s no wind for obvious reasons, the pinwheels don’t spin until Joel pokes one of them while passing by). *

 

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - STEVE YEDLIN, a.s.c

 

* He enters what appears to be a university campus near Pinwheel’s farmland. Since class appears to be in session, he encounters few people outside. *

 

MUSIC BY JAMES NEWTON HOWARD

 

* He enters the main campus building but covers himself up to avoid attention from students passing by. Anti-war pamphlets plastered on a bulletin board seem to get him a bit on the edge so he avoids looking at them. *

 

PRODUCED BY SEBASTIAN PETERS p.g.a and JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS

 

* He locates the office of professor Isla O’Connor. A schedule posted next to her office reveals she’s holding a lecture on “Pallasyne 101” a few minutes later. *

 

DIRECTED BY MATT & ROSS DUFFER

 

* As the credits come to an end, Joel enters O’Connor’s office and closes the door behind him. *

 

“Pallasyne. The vessel of war. The thing that makes us… more than human.”

 

We’re in the lecture hall. A class is being held, moderately attended, led by professor Isla O’Connor where she introduces her students (and in turn the audience) on what Pallasyne is. Through several slides she describes Pallasyne as a chemical substance introduced a few years after the downing of H.F.F Andromeda by medical scientist Valden De Kloet (pictured in the slides) designed to enhance the physical capabilities of any individual to near-superhuman levels, such as enhanced endurance, strength, speed, resistance to the elements and so forth. A man or woman enhanced with Pallasyne could survive for days on end without food or water, effectively cutting the need for resources by half. When first deployed on combat-trained soldiers side effects were exposed that didn’t become overly apparent in testing (partially because testing was rushed and in heavily controlled environments). While the serum enhanced a person's physiological abilities without having to build more muscles as intended, testosterone production ramped up far higher than anyone could have predicted regardless of gender. As one helpful student puts it, it turns grown men and women into emotionally volatile teenage boys, and made them risk being prone to violent outbursts should they be put under extremely heavy pressure.

 

While this was managed through medication and therapy, a few years down the line a greater issue was exposed, and to exemplify this Isla announces that she’s brought a guest to the lecture. We turn and see Joel sitting near the bottom of the tiered seats, turning around and awkwardly wavering to the class behind him. He quickly introduces himself saying he served in the front battalion against the Scavenger army a few years ago, but retired after finding out the effects of the Pallasyne. Isla brings out a chair which Joel gets to sit on before Isla proceeds with the lecture. She goes on to explain that Pallasyne through its entry into the body’s circulation systems combined with the ramped up testosterone production birthed a toxin that infects one’s veins. As Pallasyne was designed to circumvent the detoxification process in his liver the toxin could flow freely. To show what she means, Joel rolls down his sleeve to reveal his right arm and we see coal black streams running along what should be his veins. “H-how far does that thing go” nervously asks a student. Joel lifts up his shirt to reveal a big, black stain in his abdomen. A female student immediately runs out of the room. A few others try to hold back their vomit. One careless student tries to film the whole thing.

 

Isla: What doesn’t help is that the toxin benefits from your outbursts. The more times you lose control of your body, the faster it’ll spread.

 

Isla turns back to the students and tells them that people like Joel will be the patients of the future, and as future doctors and nurses they will be the ones taking care of them. No antidote to Pallasyne or the toxin it spawned exists, in part because Valden never disclosed an unknown ingredient to the serum (because humanity was rushing into a war at the time, they simply took his word for it) and when everything went south he vanished and the secret of the serum with him.

 

We skip ahead a bit til after the end of the lecture. Joel is packing his backpack when he’s approached by Isla, telling him he did a good job grossing out her students. Joel quips back saying he was happy to provide body horror to the class. He asks for the reimbursement he was promised, and Isla tells him to talk to the front desk and they’ll send him credits.

 

Isla: Is this your life now? Getting paid for scaring kids at lectures?

Joel: You got any other suggestions? I’m not fit to handle anything else. I got ten years left, maybe less. I’m a dead man walking.

Isla: Why are you still waking then? Something has to keep you going...

Joel: Well… I hope for an ideal world where something comes along to cure me of this… other than that, I don’t know.

Isla: ...You’ve got a family?

Joel: A sister and a father, why?

Isla: If you pledge to donate your body to us once you... apologies for the blunt language... croak your peers will be well reimbursed. Would’ve been something.

Joel: ...I’ll think about it.

 

Joel leaves the campus and we cut to him arriving back at Milky Way. At that moment the docking bay is being overcrowded by new arrivals of alien immigrants, all standing in line to get processed. Joel is glared at by hundreds of different alien species as he simply walks past them. While most aliens get through the arduous processing just fine (although some face harassment from the human border patrol along the way) there are planted signs everywhere with a depiction of a Scavenger on it with a no symbol over them, often accompanied by text in several human and alien languages telling people to report any Scavenger they see attempt to get through processing. Once Joel’s past the border check, his phone suddenly lights up with several drunk texts from Kira.

 

Joel: ...You gotta be shitting me.

 

Most of the texts are poorly spelled, incoherent ramblings, but once catches his eye: “Thai dnied my aplicatonn agn”. This gives Joel pause. He texts back at her asking where she’s at, and she blurts out a street number downtown.

 

We are re-introduced to Kira, now twenty-five years old, drinking away in a flashy club populated by patrons from all across the galaxy. On the television screen across the desk we see news footage of human soldiers advancing towards a scavenger stronghold on a distant planet, only to be pushed back by the enemy. While intoxicated, Kira tries to make a move on another human (played by Brittanny Snow), only to be confronted by her big, fat alien blob of a boyfriend, who Kira creatively names "Blob".

 

[ Note: Occasionally an alien species converses with a human character in their own language, although most often (I repeat: MOST often) the human character can still understand them. Alien speech is written in brackets. ]

Blob: (You're trying to get with my girl, human?!)

Kira: [ turns to Blob's GF ] Is that your boyfriend? I kinda assumed you would go for men who'd bathe more than... [ sniffs ] twice a decade, maybe.

Blob: (If itty, bitty little human is so concerned over hygiene then she better scram back to her itty, bitty little bathtub, before I take a dump all over her itty, bitty little face!)

Blob's girlfriend: Darling, she's not worth the trouble. Remember, one more strike and it's back to prison.

Kira: Oh what, can’t hit a girl?

[ Kira is immediately proven wrong when she’s struck in the face by Blob’s fist. She falls to the floor as other bar patrons go “OOOHHHH”. Kira gets back up, wipes the blood off her mouth and grins. ]

Kira: Now that’s more like it!

 

Kira shows off her acrobatic skills by leaping onto Blob’s head with her legs and throw him across the bar. This shocks the other bar patrons even more, and whispers among the crowd dub Kira as a “super soldier” while she continues to wrestle with Blob. Blob’s girlfriend just rolls her eyes and calmly asks the bartender for another drink. The bartender, also unmoved by what’s unraveling in front of them, complies. Meanwhile, Blob grabs a table and tries to squash Kira with it, but she evades and uses her window to smash Blob in the back with a chair, downing him temporarily. Bar patrons start taking bets on who will win the fight until Blob gets up and grabs a patron and throws said patron at Kira. Other bar patrons leap on Blob in retaliation but he fights them back and an all out mega-brawl breaks out. Bob grabs a patron’s face and smashes it through a window, alerting people outside the bar who call on city guards to defuse the situation inside. The brawl escalates and Kira finds herself trapped at the bottom of a pile of patrons as Blob has been sent into a blind rage and attacks whoever even dares to look at him. She starts choking as she’s being squeezed, but feels a familiar hand grabbing her and freeing her from the pile. She looks up and sees her brother Joel who tells her to stand back as he deals with Blob. Joel approaches Blob in calm, but Blob immediately recognizes Joel from an earlier encounter and we see Joel let out an “oh shit” before Blob tackles him. Joel’s face is slammed into a wall and Blob holds him there, taking the opportunity to drill his face in while he’s at it. Joel snaps and lets out a bloodcurdling scream, causing everyone in the bar to stop fighting. Blob, suddenly terrified, lets Joel go and we see a bruised and bloody Joel staring at him, eyes bulging. Kira, immediately realizing what she’s done, lets out an “oh no”. Joel grabs a blunt object which he uses to smash Blob’s face in and Blob falls to the ground. While Joel, in a blind fit of rage, keeps beating Blob to submission, Kira screams at the other patrons asking if anyone has a “doser” that she apparently needs to calm Joel down with. She’s given a syringe similar to the one we saw earlier and she leaps at her brother and wraps her arm around his throat while sticking the needle in his neck, which calms his down. Guards finally arrive and arrest pretty much everyone in the bar as Joel falls unconscious.

 

We cut to a little bit later outside the bar where Kira is seen holding her still drowsy brother in her arms while being tended to by medical personnel. She’s told by a nurse that since so many were hurt badly during the brawl there weren’t enough ambulances available to take everyone to the hospital in one go so they’re delivering the critically injured at first, which includes Blob. Blob’s girlfriend appears, telling Kira the brawl inside resulted in her being blinded in one eye, and she proceeds to spit in Kira’s face before she walks away. Joel’s consciousness returns gradually and he asks his sister what just happened in there. She doesn’t tell him, only saying it’s her fault and she’s sorry for dragging him into it. A car pulls up next to them and out steps Commander Barks who rushes over to his two children. He sees they’re both okay (relatively) and immediately goes into berating them.

 

Barks: I really thought I could trust at least one of you, but you managed to prove me wrong!

Kira: Dad… don’t put the blame on Joel. I was the one who started it.

Barks: ...What happened to you, Kira? You used to be such an upstanding young woman.

Kira: I… I don’t know.

Barks: [sighs] I don’t know what to say. I know the serum’s affecting your brother badly. But I thought you’d be better. [turns to Joel] How you doing, son?

Joel: My head hurts… but I think I can manage.

Barks: You’re both coming home and stay with me while we figure things out. Don’t worry about the guards, I convinced them to let you go.

Kira: ...You bribed them.

Barks: That I did. But for you and everyone else’s sake I’m not gonna let you sleep in a jail cell tonight.

 

We cut back to the docking bay. Two cloaked figures (basically a whole bunch of textiles wrapped around body and head) stand in line and soon arrive at the checkpoint. Only one of them walks up to a border officer and hands him two passports while the other stands a few feet away. The officer looks at the passports, then asks for each of them to remove their outfits. The figure responds (in very broken English) that he and “his wife” can’t because of religious reasons. This doesn’t fly with the officer as he immediately calls for backup. The cloaked man looks back at his “wife” before punching the officer in the head and making a run for it while the “wife” slips into the background. The man is immediately tackled by several guards and has his clothes forcibly removed to reveal he’s a Scavenger (mocap by Marwan Kenzari). While he’s being held down the immigration line is suddenly told to disperse by a convoy arriving at the back. We’re re-introduced to Packer, being informed of what had just transpired while we see the “wife” hiding in the crowd. We find out that Packer has the same Pallasyne strains that Joel does.

 

Packer: You’ve got a lot of guts coming here, boy.

Scavenger: Me and my wife, we're escaping our homeland… We own nothing and we need help, please!

Officer: We found this sewn into the fabric of his travel bag, admiral. [ shows Packer a Scavenger rifle. ] He thought he could sneak it in and the detectors wouldn’t notice.

Packer: [ grabs the rifle and inspects it. ] XC-145 caliber. Military hardware.

Scavenger: No… no…

Packer: Bring him in and make him talk by any means necessary. And find his-

 

Packer starts coughing. He takes out what looks like a breathing tube with the canister sewn into his uniform and snorts through it. He coughs up a small ounce of blood which makes him sigh. He and his men walk on while the Scavenger is tased into submission. Once Packer and his crew have left, a glitch suddenly enters the checkpoint’s computer system and they’re forced to reboot the whole thing, allowing the “wife” to sneak past them.

 

Barks takes Joel and Kira to his apartment downtown, which frankly doesn’t look all that much better than Joel’s other than being larger in size. Kira immediately crashes headfirst on the couch to her adoptive father’s chagrin. He goes to talk to Joel and asks how he’s been hanging up lately, and Joel says he’s been trying his best to keep his outbursts from happening but now his sister’s reset the counter back to zero. He tells Barks what Kira told him through the drunk texts, and Barks looks back at his daughter now having passed out.

 

Joel: I told her it was useless to try to apply again but I think she’s stopped listening to me too.

Barks: I understand she wants to become a doctor so she can treat you, but this is the fifth time…

Joel: I keep telling her, they won’t let anyone with Pallasyne infection become a doctor, but I guess she thinks if she keeps applying they’ll somehow change their minds.

Barks: [ sighs ] What am I ever gonna do with you two?

Joel: You tell me.

 

Barks gets a call and displays the video feed on the wall through a projector. It’s from his superior, the dashing Captain Lucina. Kira suddenly wakes up to get catty with the captain.

 

Kira: Oh look, it’s the Wicked Witch of the Bow.

Lucina: Aren’t you a little too young to be wasted like that, sweetie? I thought girls like you were supposed to be studying for the math test while worrying if anyone from the popular click were going to ask them to the prom. Then again, nobody likes a drunkie.

Joel: Captain of the Milky Way, everybody.

Barks: [ sighs even deeper ] You need anything from me, captain?

Lucina: Head honcho wants to see us both, you should get up here.

Barks: [ looks at his children and then back at Lucina ] ...I’ll be there in twenty.

 

Barks heads out and under her breath Kira calls him a “lap dog for the head bitch”. Joel tries to remind her that he’s only trying to make both ends meet, and Kira, all ruffled up, replies that if he was trying, he had failed miserably. We cut to the command center a while later where Barks meets up with Lucina and the newly-arrived Packer. Packer explains to them about the Scavenger they detained earlier and the one still on the loose, but that subject is quickly brushed aside for the real reason he came to Milky Way (despite calling it “the universe’s greatest garbage fire”). He notices a bottle of brandy on Lucina’s desk and without even asking grabs a glass and takes a sip, not that Lucina seems to mind.

 

Packer: This one's not half bad. Doesn't taste artificial either. Where's it from?

Lucina: Couple of yokels had been using the Milky Way's starboard engine as a hidden wine distillery for years until we busted them. The wine came from real grapes they managed to grow on Volternus’ moon in the Norma sector. H.F.F order were for the assets to be destroyed but I kept it. Now I got two decades worth of that stuff in my attic.

Barks: ...You're... you're just gonna say that out loud?!

Packer: I'll allow it. [ sips ] Once you've tasted the real thing it's hard to accept the fake one.

Lucina: We've had two hundred years to get genetically engineered grapes right and they still taste like canine piss.

Packer: If we had a planet with fertile soil to farm on we wouldn't need any artificial grapes.

Barks: My apologies Admiral, but where is this getting at? I know very well you detest us both, so you didn't come here just to chit-chat.

Packer: [turns to Lucina] You hear him, captain? That mouth is why he doesn't hold your position.

[ Barks scoffs before Packer takes out a folder with satellite images of Khouga and shows them to him. This confuses Barks. ]

Barks: W-w-what am I supposed to interpret from this?

Packer: We picked this up from our spy satellites circling above those pests' home world. Ground analysis shows pockets of... well, extremely fertile ground.

Barks: That's impossible. Nothing grows on Khouga. Not even by the riverbeds...

Packer: The satellites detected thousands of tiny pockets with ground fertile enough to be farmed on for thousands of years. And we then we found out that each season these little bastards expand. At this rate an eighth of the landmass will be fertile within the next century, and the best part is those cockroaches don't even know this is happening.

Barks: ...I don't believe this.

Packer: We can recreate Terra... on K-184d.

Barks: ...

Packer: And I came here because I want your "son" to lead a ground invasion.

Barks: ...What?! That is out of the question!

Packer: He's the greatest killing machine we've ever had. In the three years since his retirement not one has come close to his caliber.

Lucina: His record is impeccable, I'll grant you that.

Barks: No! My son is not a weapon of war! If you want to secure humanity's extinction, go ahead, but you're NOT making him a part of it!

Packer: Show some respect, commander, your son is a grown man. I think he can make that decision on his own. He’ll be reimbursed well, enough so you three can finally move out of the dumps.

Barks: We’re only there because you cut my pay in half. Vindictively.

Packer: Let’s not argue semantics, commander.

 

Packer begins coughing again, and he takes out his tube. Barks and Lucina silently note to each other the strains that reach up the back of Packer’s neck. We cut back to Barks’ apartment where Kira’s asleep on the couch and Joel is watching some crummy program on tv. Outside, the cloaked Scavenger woman from before is traversing the hallways. She takes up a written note with Barks’ name on it and his address. She finds the door and rather than just knock, she takes out what looks like a file tool but with the press of a button it starts emanating scorching heat allowing her to cut through the lock latch and pry open the door from the outside. Joel begins falling asleep as the Scavenger tiptoes her way into the apartment, surprised to see that there are multiple people in there, and neither matching the photograph she has of Barks. Dhe doesn’t try and kill them with the blade she carries but rather sneaks up to them and start inspecting them. Her interest is soon caught by seeing the Pallasyne streams peek out of Joel’s sleeve. She gently rolls it up and removes her head wear - revealing her striking appearance - to get a better look. What she doesn’t know is that Kira’s woken up behind her.

 

Kira: I’m sorry, I wasn’t told we were having guests...

 

Kira slams the woman’s head against the living room table, waking Joel up. She throws her brother a gun and he points it at the intruder while Kira lifts her up and chokes her from behind.

 

Tamara: Wait! Stop! I don’t want to hurt anybody! [ chokes ]

Joel: Don’t I think I don’t see that knife you got on you, cockroach!

Kira: You wanna take her out, bro?

Tamara: NO!! Please! I’m looking for commander Ba- [ chokes harder ]

 

Joel has the gun aimed at Tamara’s forehead. Choking and absolutely terrified, Tamara suddenly starts crying while she tries to beg for them to stop. Joel pauses, seeing the look of terror and despair in Tamara’s eyes as the two make proper eye contact for the first time. He lowers his gun.

 

Kira: What the hell are you doing?!

Joel: I’ve never seen them cry before. They always look like they’re ready to meet death.

Tamara: I don’t… [ sobs ] I don’t wanna die…

Joel: ...Let her go.

Kira: Are you crazy?!

Joel: KIRA, LET HER GO!

 

Kira’s taken back by her brother shouting at her. She drops Tamara who falls to the ground trying to regain her breath. Kira then removes the blade from her and keeps it for herself. Joel grabs himself another one of those “dosers” to calm with. They then start interrogating the frightened Tamara, who insists she wants to see Barks. “In what affairs?” Joel asks. “...To make peace.” Tamara replies.  Joel and Kira look at each other in confusion.

 

The three seat at the dining table as the interrogation continues.  Tamara claims herself to be the crown princess of K-184d, or “Khouga” as she calls it. To prove this she shows them the emblem of the Khouga royal family, and Kira confirms it by matching it with spy images Barks’ has on the home’s computer (even though it’s illegal to have such information on a private server and Kira shouldn’t know how to get around the firewall, but as she puts it nobody’s going to check).

 

Joel: I didn’t know King Ta’Chek had a daughter.

Kira: One that speaks fluent English on top of that…

Tamara: Father wouldn’t let me go anywhere but he didn’t look much after me either, so I still snuck out a lot. Didn’t go so well for me if I got caught, though…

Kira: That doesn’t explain anything. Where’d you learn to talk like us?

Tamara: ...When I was four years old, I saw this massive ship falling out of the sky. Probably was as big as this one is.

Kira: ...Andromeda.

Joel: …

Tamara: ...D-did I say something wrong?

Joel: ...No, it’s… it’s nothing. Continue.

 

We get a flashback montage as Tamara goes to explain that at age eight she started exploring inside the wreckage of Andromeda. We see an eight-year old her climbing through the wreckage, avoiding detection from other Scavengers trying to ransack the place. That’s when she comes across a vast digital library. Most of the library was intact, Tamara explains all that was needed was a power source which a then ten years old her managed to snatch from a vessel factory. She wires it to the library’s mainframe and voila, the library lights up again and everything still standing could be accessed. At first she couldn’t understand a word that was written in any of the files, but as the years passed she picked up on the ways humans wrote, talked and phrased through watching movies, listen to music and translate alien languages she did know into human speak. At age eighteen, she had self-taught herself to write and speak fluent human, read everything in the library multiple times, and as present day her puts it felt she knew more of human culture than even her own. The library had become a second home to her, and she couldn’t be happier that it was entirely left to her own.

 

That’s when everything changed. One evening she accidentally fell asleep reading up on floral biology only to be awakened by an explosion rocking the hull of the ship. Large drilling machines bursts through and enter the mainframe, followed by hover trucks bringing in equipment and, to Tamara’s worry, weapons. Out of one of the hover trucks steps to Tamara’s surprise a squad of humans allied with the Scavenger excursionists. She had overheard the human leader’s name: Valden De Kloet.

 

Kira: …Valden?! Valden’s on Khouga?!

Tamara: Y-you respond to his name… Is there something I should know?

Joel: [ rolls up sleeve to show Tamara the strains ] He turned me and many others into this.

Kira: The H.F.F has a billion-credit bounty on his head. He’s been missing for over six years. That he arrived at Khouga when you were eighteen… the timeline matches up.

Joel: Is he still there?

Tamara: I think so, yes.

 

We get a bit more of Tamara’s backstory. Valden and his crew had taken complete control of Andromeda’s mainframe and set up some strange kind of laboratory inside. Tamara couldn’t risk going back to Andromeda without getting caught, and she found out later that Valden had discovered the library and - to her despair - destroyed it. Back in the present, Joel and Kira look at each other after hearing Tamara’s story. They order her to stay put while they go into a backroom to discuss what to do with the information. Kira suggests they hand her over to the authorities, but Joel refutes her immediately, which leads to Kira assuming a few things. Outside, Tamara hides when she hears Barks outside discovering what happened to the door. He bursts in and angrily asks Joel and Kira who the hell fried the lock. Seeing who it is Tamara comes out of hiding which startles Barks to the point that he reaches for his gun but Joel and Kira manage to talk him down.

 

Barks has everything explained to him, at first against his will but he warms up once Tamara brings up Valden. Tamara finishes by saying she came here to find someone of high authority, being directed to Barks, that can help her start peace talks between the H.F.F and Khouga for their interplanetary war has gone on far too long and claimed far too many lives. Her father, Ta’Chek, refuses to listen to her. “You’re not gonna get anything out of Packer, that’s for sure” Barks responds. The three ask what he means by that, and Barks explains what Packer told him.

 

Tamara: ...Khouga’s growing?!

Barks: Surprised me too, I thought it was just a desolate wasteland-

Tamara: IT’S NOT A WASTELAND!! [ slams the table ] ...It’s beautiful.

Everyone: …

Tamara: ...Sorry. Carry on.

Joel: I can’t go back to the war! I mean… look at me.

Tamara: ...You fought in the war?!

Barks: Joel was special. The Pallasyne worked on him better than any other soldier. Over a thousand confirmed kills to his record.

Tamara: …

Joel: I… I’ve renounced those days, it… it doesn’t reflect who I am today!

Kira: You’re awfully quick to point that out to this girl...

Joel: What the hell do you mean by that?!

Kira: ...You know what, nevermind.

Barks: If Packer were to stage a direct assault on your home planet, princess, it’s going to lead to the end of both of our species. If what you say about Valden is true, finding him and bringing him here could make Packer listen. Then if he were to make a peace offer to your father he’d probably listen too.

Joel: Plus, it’s possible Valden has made or discovered an antidote...

Barks: Right. It’s the best bargaining tool you could have in this situation.

Kira: So you’re suggesting we’re just gonna waltz into her homeland? That’d probably give them cause to nuke us back!

Tamara: There is… one way.

 

Tamara elaborates on a way to enter Khouga undetected. To the far west of the capital, on the other side of the planet, there is a persistent storm that’s been blowing for over a thousand years (think something like Jupiter’s great red spot) where all means of communication are disrupted. Tamara says bracing that storm is how she and another Scavenger named Be’Tram (the one who got captured earlier) escaped the planet’s atmosphere undetected. So should they enter the same way, and hopefully survive the storm, they should get in and out without issue. All they need is a ship, and a means of still being able to communicate albeit encrypted.

 

Joel: ...I think I know a guy.

 

We cut to the H.F.F Hoag. Be’Tram is subjected to various forms of torture before he blurts out the truth to his torturers. Packer, having been standing menacingly in the shadows, asks Be’Tram to run it all by him one more time. Processing what to do with the information, gears start turning in his head. He turns back to Be’Tram with a cocking smile.

 

Packer: ...How would you like to make history, boy?

 

Cut to the following morning. Joel, Kira and a cloaked Tamara are standing in a dingy alleyway in downtown. Tamara crawls under a dumpster when they see two H.F.F guards walk by, which Kira finds mildly amusing. They come across a seemingly random brick wall and Joel knocks at it in a pattern (three long, one quick, two long, two quick, one long and one quick). Joel tells a confused Kira that it’s simply Morse code for “open”. The wall opens up using concealed mechanisms and the three enter. They enter a warehouse where tons of robot parts are lying around, and they soon come across a teenage inventor who shakes his head in frustration when he sees Joel.

 

Henry: You have some guts to be back here without a plutonium reactor!

Joel: What are you gonna do? Shove my face in a desk?

Henry: No. But he will.

[ Joel is suddenly grabbed from behind and has his face showed in a desk by a seven foot robot. Kira and Tamara are both too startled to do anything while Joel lets out muffled screams. ]

Henry: Reese, tranquilize!

[ The robot, named Reese, deploys one of those yellow dosers and forcibly injects it in Joel’s neck. Joel then drops to the floor. ]

Henry: Reese, resuscitate!

[ Reese electroshocks Joel, bringing him back to consciousness. ]

Joel: ...So he’s your guard dog now?

Henry: It’s a bad neighborhood, Joel. I need to protect my business.

Kira: What the hell kind of business is this?!

Henry: A kennel for three legged dogs… What do you think, princess?

Tamara: Actually, I’m the princess here...

Kira: Nobody asked you, cockroach!

Henry: Ooh, cat fight!

Joel: Kira, are you just gonna make enemies with every woman you don’t try to get with?

Henry: No please, continue!

Kira: Cram it, you little twerp! [ turns to Joel ] See, bro? I can make enemies with boys too!

 

Henry leads the three to his workshop. Joel explains to Kira that he sometimes works for Henry by bringing him parts since Isla’s lectures don’t pay for everything. Joel lays everything out to Henry while Tamara quickly makes friends with Reese, who she finds is actually a very friendly giant that likes being petted and responds by making digitized noises. Henry, being a genius programmer and self-taught inventor, suggests to Joel they should try out his newest invention if they want encrypted communication all the way from Khouga. He opens a drawer and takes out what looks a tiny space rover, no larger than a guinea pig. He plugs the chip into the rover’s motherboard, stepping back as the two watch the rover, named T-Bot, suddenly come to life.

 

Joel: ...So how’s this thing even gonna help us?

T-Bot: Help you? Who said anything about helping you, fleshling?!

Henry: [ sighs ] Thing with artificial intelligence on robots is… The smaller they are, the smarter they get, but they also tend to… lash out.

[ Henry puts a rubik’s cube on the table and T-Bot solves it in the fraction of a second. T-Bot then throws it in Joel’s face. ]

Joel: Ow! What was that for?!

T-Bot: You think I’m gonna tell you? [ is grabbed by Joel ] Hey, hey, HEY!!!

Joel: You better or I’ll drop you to the floor... [ gets zapped by T-Bot and drops him ] OW!!

T-Bot: [ lands on the floor unscathed ] Soft pressure tires, bitch! I can land on any surface from any height-

[ Henry presses a remote and T-Bot suddenly shuts off. ]

Joel: ...Why didn’t you do that earlier?!

Henry: Seeing you get hit in the face and then zapped was kinda funny.

 

Henry explains to everyone that T-Bot can send out electromagnetic pulses on command (or whenever T-Bot feels like it, to Henry’s chagrin) and send encrypted signals from any place in the known universe. Tamara then bumps into something Henry’s kept under a sheet, which he says he’s been trying to fix for years but to his dismay he can’t figure it out. Tamara gets help from Joel to pull off the sheet and they reveal a rusty Scavenger cruiser underneath, which Henry says he got from the black market albeit at a very high price.

 

Henry: I’ve tried with every power source I could find, but it won’t budge!

Tamara: It’s not supposed to! Khougan vehicles are designed to only operate on Khougan command!

Henry: … [ turns to Joel ] Wait, what does she mean by that?

 

Tamara hops inside the cruiser and activates a pressure plate in the cockpit which gets the cruiser moving, ascending out of Henry’s pile of junk.

 

Reese: [ applauds while making happy-sounding noises ]

Joel: [ turns back to Henry ] I thought you were supposed to be a genius at this kind stuff?

Henry: ...I’m good with coding and building robots, I’m not good with cars.

Kira: I guess that’s our ride to the planet? I call shotgun.

 

With all the tools in place, they come up with a plan: sneak their way out to the depressurization chamber at the port, then use T-Bot’s EMP to force open the outer hatch should they get caught. They decide to head back to the apartment to inform Barks and pack their bags, but are surprised to find Packer (and Lucina) there waiting for them. Tamara hides while the two siblings see Packer at their table taking another sip of that brandy Lucina brought him. Barks sits there all quiet.

 

Packer: You two should try it. It’s made from real grapes.

Kira: I’m… I’m not looking for a drink at eleven in the morning.

Lucina: That’s a first.

[ Kira galres at the captain ]

 

Packer lays it all out: there’s a Scavenger, the crown princess of Khouga in fact, running around Milky Way looking for Barks. Kira asks what he’ll do should he catch her, and Packer, quite menacingly, doesn’t answer.

 

Kira: You’re going to… negotiate with her, right?

Packer: …

Kira: ...Right?!

Packer: ...No. [ leans uncomfortably close in on Kira ] There’s a war coming, child. No peace talks are going to stop it.

Joel: The commander informed us. You’re going to stage a direct assault on K-184d. You sure you have enough votes from the captains?

Packer: Maybe not today… but I will in due time. The universe is a ticking time bomb, private. It’s only a question before it goes off.

[ Packer moves to lean in on Joel. ]

Packer: You were Valden’s greatest creation, Joel. You have so much promise yet untapped.

Joel: I-I’d rather not fulfill that promise, admiral.

Packer: ...You’ll come around to it. [ pats Joel on the back ] You all will.

 

Packer departs leaving Lucina behind. Having known Tamara was there the whole time, Lucina tells her to come out of hiding and explains to Joel and Kira that Barks told her everything. She wants in on their scheme, mainly because she doesn’t like what Packer’s plotting either. That’s at least one vote in their favor.

 

Lucina: None of the ships are fit for war. Especially not Milky Way.

Kira: Well, she is an unsinkable piece of shit…

Lucina: She’s a piece of shit, but she’s my piece of shit. ...So what’s the plan?

 

They tell Lucina the plan and Lucina agrees to cover for them should it get ugly. Barks suggests he should inform the other captains of this (or rather the only one he knows he can trust, Radian Helms) and they’ll figure out a scheme to stop Packer’s plot should it go to vote. They should probably get going before Packer catches on to them, and so they prepare to leave. As they head out, Barks grabs Tamara by the wrist and leans in on her.

 

Barks: I’ll be front: I don’t trust you. I don’t trust your kind. I was there when Andromeda sank.

Tamara: ...We don’t look up to what they did. They were murderers and terrorists.

Barks: ...Keep your distance, princess. If you ever try anything on Joel or Kira, you will regret it.

 

Barks lets go of Tamara, and she looks back at him as she exits the door. Barks is left sitting at the table with Lucina emptying her bottle of brandy.

 

Lucina: She seems nice.

Barks: ...

 

As the trio leave, they don’t realize that when Packer patted Joel on the back earlier, he actually planted a tracking device on him. Through surveillance cameras, Packer and his men see the them leaving Barks’ apartment block and head downtown. Packer turns to one of his subordinates.

 

Packer: ...Send Gruber. [ puts on his breathing tube ]

 

The trio arrive back at Henry’s and tell him to get T-Bot prepared. Henry activates T-Bot again who rolls around hassling Joel as he tries to get prepared. Reese, having attached to Tamara like a puppy to its owner, nudges at her wanting to come along. Henry tells him off, saying he needs him here. Reese makes a very disappointed noise. Kira inspects the cruiser.

 

Kira: How long ways to Kepler-184?

Henry: At Milky Way’s current position, about fifteen light years.

Kira: You sure this thing’s still capable of hyperdrive, Tamara?

Tamara: I’m sure of it! ...Maybe.

Kira: ...

T-Bot: Great. We’re all gonna die. Well, not me cause I’m a robot, I can survive in space!

Joel: Because that’s what we want to hear as we die in the vacuum of space. More of you talking.

T-Bot: There’s no sound in space, dumbass!

Joel: Good, then you’ll hopefully shut up!

T-Bot: You want me to blast you with an EMP, fleshling?! [ opens rear compartment ]

Joel: Okay, okay! Sorry! Chill!

Tamara: [ peeks out from the ship ] Cruiser’s ready!

Henry: I’ll be patching your communication feed to the captain. Then you can keep track of each other.

Kira: Why aren’t you coming?

Henry: You’re gonna need me here. Plus… I don’t like deserts that much.

Joel: Alright everyone, let’s-

 

Gas canisters suddenly crash in through the windows and cover the entirety of the warehouse, obscuring everyone’s line of sight. H.F.F soldiers burst their way in and soon have them cornered. Joel, Kira and Tamara are all pinned to the ground while Henry and the robots hide under one of his trash piles. The smoke clears and in steps a rough looking bounty hunter named Gruber (played by David Harbour) who recognizes Joel and Kira.

 

Gruber: Son of a bitch, it’s the prodigal son! How’s it been hanging, Joel?

[ Gruber removes the tracking device from Joel’s back. ]

Joel: You’re working for Packer now, Gruber?!

Gruber: I heard there’s a big bounty on the girl’s head. Plus I’ve got another big payday coming... Packer says there’s gonna be fireworks.

Tamara: NO! Please!! You can’t-

[ Tamara gets tasered and screams ]

Gruber: I’m sorry, princess, was it your turn to be talking? You’ll have to wait in line.

 

Gruber makes more threatening remarks at the three before Joel, realizing what he has to do, offers Gruber to tase him into submission despite Kira’s protestations. Gruber denies him that, saying he knows him far too well to try that. Henry and the robots overhear this and hatch an idea amongst themselves.

 

Gruber: I hardly doubt you three are in this dumpster by yourselves. You have accomplices.

[ Gruber pulls out his gun and puts it against Tamara’s head to Joel and Kira’s horror. ]

Joel: You wouldn’t do it! Packer needs her!

Gruber: He said I could bring her in alive or dead. If you don’t want her cockroach brains splattered over the floor you should probably tell me where your friends are. I’m gonna count to ten.

Joel: Gruber, don’t-

Gruber: One.

[ T-Bot rolls past the unwitting soldiers and pinches Joel. ]

Gruber: Two. [ cocks gun ]

Tamara: NO!!! PLEASE!!!

Joel: Let her go!!

Gruber: EIGHT.

T-Bot: [ whispers to Joel ] Sorry, fleshling. This is probably gonna sting a bit.

Gruber: NINE. [ turns to Tamara ] Sorry, darling. Looks like you’re not valued enough.

 

Joel is electrocuted by T-Bot which eventually causes him to hulk out the same way he did in the bar. Gruber’s face quickly changes from that of cockish delight to abject horror.

 

Gruber: ...Oh shit.

 

We cut outside. Humans and aliens are walking down the street minding their own business when Gruber bursts right out of the wall and is launched across the street right into the side of a car. Inside, Joel is pummeling on the remaining startled soldiers one by one, throwing one all the way up in the ceiling and lifting another up and punching another guy’s head downwards so hard it causes cracks on the floor. A few soldiers prepare to shoot at him but are attacked from behind by a freed Kira while Reese comes out of his hiding spot and slams the two soldiers keeping Tamara pinned down. Once they’re dealt with one guy remains but Henry comes up from behind and knocks him out with a piece of metal. Kira tells Tamara to reach into Joel’s bag to find another doser which she shoves into Joel’s neck who then passes out.

 

Henry: ...Yeah, I’m probably not good staying here anymore. [ grabs his laptop ]

Kira: Where’re you going?!

Henry: You think this is my only hideout? Bitch, please!

Tamara: [ hears vehicles pulling up outside. ] ...There’s more of them coming.

Henry: ...Take with Reese with you. You’re gonna need all the help you can get, especially if… [ looks at the passed out Joel ] big guy’s gonna be like that. Don’t do anything stupid to T-Bot! [ runs away ]

T-Bot: ...You heard the kid! Get that piece of junk moving!

 

Kira and Tamara carry Joel on board the cruiser and are joined by Reese and T-Bot. More H.F.F soldiers burst in and fire at them as they ram right through the windows and fly away across downtown.

 

Tamara: Do you even know how to steer this thing?! It’s not made for you!

Kira: Relax, princess, I know what I’m- OH SHIT!!

[ Kira crashes through a marketplace, wrecking several obligatory fruit stands along the way. ]

Kira: ...You know what, why don’t you take the wheel?

 

Tamara drives the cruiser out to the water strip separating the two sides of Milky Way as police hovers chase after them. Kira takes out a rifle and fires at their pursuers, even as she’s told by Tamara not to kill anyone (Kira snarkingly points out a few of those guys back at the warehouse are probably dead already). We cut to Lucina and Barks (and Packer) being alerted of the pursuit which continues past the water strip and towards the starboard post. Barks and Lucina are brought to the command bay where they’re told that the cruiser is heading for the decompressurazation chamber and a lieutenant asks if they should close all exits. Knowing this is their only way out, Barks lies and says that won’t be necessary. Packer suddenly appears behind them and shoves Barks out of the way.

 

Packer: CLOSE ALL EXITS AND FIRE ON THAT CRUISER!!

 

The cruiser flies past the checkpoints while still in pursuit as the group see the port doors closing in front of them. Kira thinks they’re not gonna make it but knowing they can’t go back Tamara speeds up and they slide right through the decompressure door in the last possible second. They quickly find the exhaust hatch won’t open.

 

Kira: T-BOT, NOW!!!

T-Bot: Alright... It’s your funeral.

 

T-Bot lets up a MASSIVE EMP blast which takes out the entire port, leaving it without power and forcing the hatch to open and eject the now powerless cruiser into outer space. Seeing this, Packer tells the Milky Way crew to fire their cannons at the cruiser despite Barks’ protests. Luckily Tamara gets the cruiser going against and they successfully enter hyperdrive before the cannons can fire at them. After watching them disappear into empty space, Packer turns around and punches Barks in the gut.

 

Packer: Congratulations, commander. Your children are now traitors.

[ Packer storms off, leaving Lucina and her crew to help Barks back up on his feet. ]

Lucina: You think they’re gonna make it?

Barks: I stopped hoping for them years ago, but… maybe there is a chance.

 

We cut briefly to Gruber, trying to lifts himself up (and failing over and over) after being flown into a car earlier. He’s met by Packer, who handily tells him he mucked up at the job.

 

Packer: They escaped. And I thought you were supposed to be good at your job?

Gruber: I can’t do much to him when he hulks out. He’s pretty much an unstoppable force at that point.

Packer: Then maybe what he needs is an immovable object to face him?

Gruber: ...Maybe… [ winces in pain ] ...I’m still getting paid, right?

Packer: ...Yes. I can transfer the payment right now.

Gruber: Oh cool. How many credits do I get?

Packer: Just one.

 

Packer pulls out a gun and shoots Gruber in the head at point blank range. One of Packer’s convoy asks if that was necessary, to which Packer replies “I don’t care. We’re moving forward regardless.” Gruber’s body is then carried away from the scene as Packer orders his men to set up a meeting with all the captains back at the Hoag.

 

Joel wakes up while the cruiser is in hyperdrive, finding Tamara sitting beside him. Tamara’s let Reese take the controls (since she trusts a robot more than Kira at this point) and tries to tend to his wounds while Kira tries to get some rest.

 

Tamara: What you did back there was… frightening.

Joel: [ rolls up his sleeve to show his strains ] You see these strains? It’s all because of this.

Tamara: H-how far does that thing go?

[ Joel shows his abdomen. Tamara gasps. ]

Joel: …Kira’s got the same thing. She was one of the last to be injected before they discovered what the Pallasyne did to people. If anything she got lucky.she didn’t see any deployment. She’s not prone to the outbursts I get… and she’s always felt guilty about me.

[ Tamara gently places her hand on the big black spot. She feels Joel’s skin there being coarse and rough. ]

Tamara: Are you and Kira gonna be okay?

Joel: …No. Unless Valden has the antidote… No.

Tamara: ...I’m sorry.

Joel: Don’t. We creating this ourselves. Ending the war would be better for everyone.

Reese: [ whistling noises ]

Joel: What’s he saying?

T-Bot: He’s saying we're there. [ zaps Kira ] Wake up!

Kira: Ow! That wasn’t necessary at all!

Joel: Welcome to the club.

 

The look outside to see they’ve exited hyperdrive and arrived at Khouga and closing in on the perpetuating storm. Tamara takes the wheel and says she’ll lead them through the storm, but it’s gonna get a bit bumpy. Once they dive into the storm, their line of sight is obscured by complete darkness occasionally lit by lightning strikes. The ship begins shaking violently and to everyone’s horror Tamara just casually lets go of the controls.

 

Kira: What the hell are you doing?!

Tamara: My people believe the eternal storm is the spiritual remnant of our ancestors, travelling the far side of Khouga endlessly. If they see our cause as worthy they’ll let us through. Trying to fight it will only lead to our downfall.

Kira: ...I knew it, this bitch is crazy! Give me the wheel!

Joel: KIRA, DON’T! [ Kira stops ] ...Trust her on this.

Kira: WHY?!

Joel: JUST DO IT!

 

The two go quiet. The shaking intensifies and the lightning strikes get closer and closer. Soon a lightning hits the ship and all the lights go out, leaving the screen completely black. Then the turbulence stops. The lights come back on, and the clouds begin to disperse.

 

(Play this from 1:07 for maximum effect)

Joel and Kira’s eyes widen. The ship emerges from the storm and enter a vast, mountainous desert, blessed with a blazing sun and clear blue skies. The two had never seen anything like it in all their years on board the fleet. The ship flies towards a river slithering it’s way around the creeks and valleys and soon passes by an absolutely massive waterfall. Tamara lowers the cruiser so that it almost touches the water, allowing Kira to reach her hand out and dip it in the water creating a massive wake that the camera captures beautifully. The ship then ascends a nearby mountain, crossing over it to reveal even more rivers and valleys past it. A flock of wild alien beasts run across the valley as the cruiser flies over them. The speeds further across the planet, passing by a tiny village where Scavenger children playing outside see the cruiser and playfully give chase while Reese ways back at them. Lastly, they pass a chasm, miles wide and possibly miles deep. Kira gets a serious case of vertigo just thinking about it.

 

Once the tour is over, once all the swirling orchestrations and choirs have ceased, T-Bot callously responds “...Meh.”

 

They see that the ship is running out of fuel (hyperdrive tends to burn off a lot it) and they land. Tamara tells them that the capital is just past those mountains to the east, and the remains of Andromeda are to the north (they came from the southwest). Taking the humans to the capital would be suicide for both of them, so going to Andromeda and finding Valden would be their only option. Tamara sees the mountains nearby, and says she wants to show them something before they head there.

 

On the way to the mountain range, Joel and Kira get a moment for themselves as Kira tells Joel she’s been suspecting something about him for a while now.

 

Kira: You’ve been awfully receptive to her.

Joel: ...What’s that supposed to mean?

Kira: You blow me off when I question her, you trust almost everything she says and you throw your life at the H.F.F away to help her…

Joel: My life at the H.F.F wasn’t worth much, and you’re throwing your life away too, remember?

Kira: Only because I’m looking after you! You can’t go all the way out here alone!

Joel: [ sighs ] Get to the point, sis.

Kira: My point is… You think she’s cute.

Joel: W-what?! That… that’s not what this is!

Kira: Aww, look, big brother’s blushing! Let me help you with that: ♪Joel and Tamara, sitting in a tree...♪

Joel: First of all, there are no trees around here!

[ Cut to a distant shot of them showing the vast landscape behind them with no trees in it whatsoever. ]

Kira: ...I’ll admit to that.

Joel: Second… I’ve… I’ve never met someone like her before. I always saw her kind as… as…

Kira: Monsters?

Joel: ...Yes. And you did too.

Kira: I didn’t think she’d be so nice. I think she means it when she says she wants peace between us.

Joel: You think it’s possible, though? For peace to happen?

Kira: ...I don’t know. Twenty years of built-up pain and anger doesn’t vanish overnight. She is idealistic... let’s just hope she isn’t stupid.

 

Tamara leads Joel, Kira and the robots through a passageway in the mountains. At the other side, they see something they didn’t expect: the valley of flowers we saw during the prelude. Tamara invites them to walk down the field with her, and the camera swerves around them as they descend. Tamara picks one of the red-pinkish flowers and caresses it in her hand, her gown blowing gracefully in the wind. She turns back to Joel and gives a warm smile, making him gulp at her stunning appearance while Kira snickers at him. Reese meanwhile picks up a flower and releases it in the wind, turning his head sideways as he watches it fly away. T-Bot, unlike earlier, is visibly impressed by all of this too, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.

 

The beautiful scene of flowers is immediately contrasted by us cutting back to the sterile, militarized exteriors of the H.F.F Hoag as it rendezvous with Pinwheel, Sunflower, Mayall, Seyfert and Milky Way. Barks and Lucina are brought into a conference room where they soon meet up with the other captains of the fleet: Tori Juan of Sunflower (Michelle Yeoh), Benjamin Hebert of Mayall (Cliff Curtis), Maxwell Plains of Hoag (Paul Reiser) [ while Packer has his base of operations at Hoag, it has its separate captain ], Julia Hemphill of Pinwheel (Holly Hunter) and Radian Helms of Seyfert. Barks tries to greet Helms as old-time buddies but he’s given a cold reception by Helms to his dismay. The captains and Barks all get seated before Packer enters the room. Barks and Lucina are given glares by the five captains before they go immediately into berating the two one by one, making all kinds of assumptions about why they would let the hatch stay open even as the suspects were trying to escape. Lucina responds to each of the allegations dismissively. We last get to Helms, who Barks can see has a lot of pent up anger inside of him, but he doesn’t say anything. Packer tells everyone to forgo all of that for the moment since there’s a more pressing matter at hand, and he explains his intention to launch a direct assault on Khouga.

 

Plains: Are you mad, admiral?! You understand you’re giving them the green light to launch a counter-attack right back at us?

Hebert: I’m with Plains on this one. No ship, not even Hoag, would survive a direct assault.

Packer: What is it that you don’t understand about bugs, Hebert? You can squeeze them one by one but as long as the hive is still standing they’ll keep coming. Deploying ground troops on K-184d and destroying the capital is the only way to assure their destruction.

Juan: It’d be a mutual destruction.

Packer: Now you sound like Commander Barks…

Barks: [ scoffs ]

Hemphill: We’re not holding any vote on this, admiral. You’re suggesting a dangerous thing.

Packer: ...Very well. I understand your concerns. Rest assured there won’t be a vote.

 

Barks and Lucina breathe sighs of relief, but Lucina almost immediately raises suspicion at how well Packer is taking the rejection. She notes to Barks how the strains have made their way further up Packer’s neck, which only in a day’s time is very strange. Once the conference is over and done with and the respective captains are heading back to their ships, Barks and Lucina take Helms aside and try to explain everything to him to get him on their side. Lucina makes sure they aren’t being surveyed.

 

Helms: ...So you did aid them?

Barks: Helms, listen to me, we may not be able to convince Packer but if we manage to bring in Valden-

Helms: GODDAMN IT, BARKS!! [ slams fist at the table ] I’ve known you for thirty years, and then you pull this shit?!

Barks: I know this doesn’t sound right out of the proper context, but…

Helms: You were there! You were there when they tore everything apart! And then you chose to side with them?!

Barks: I didn’t side with anyone!

Helms: ...I don’t believe this.

Lucina: Believe it, hot shot! Packer’s up to something, we just need to figure out what!

Helms: And you tell me all this because you think I’m going to stay quiet?!

Barks: Helms… I trust you… You must have felt Packer was plotting something. It feels like every day he’s growing more and more unhinged!

Helms: [ sighs ] I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t felt it… But the only way he’s removed from his position is if he loses his re-election. Problem is nobody’s running against him. Nobody with pull anyway.

Lucina: ...Maybe you should run against him?

Helms: Me? Good luck with that!

Barks: Besides, the election is still half a year away. Packer could execute his scheme far sooner than that.

Lucina: So what do we do?

Helms: ...We wait. If something comes up, we’ll take action.

 

Barks is reluctant to follow Helms’ suggestion, but he and Lucina agree to it. Before they head off, Barks suddenly gets a message from an unknown sender. Lucina tries to convince him it’s just spam mail, but Barks opens it to reveal an encrypted feed from Henry.

 

Henry: Hey, Joel and Kira’s dad! How’s it holding?!

Barks: Who the hell is this?!

Henry: Me? I’m just your friendly neighborhood inventor!

Lucina: Don’t play around with us, kiddo! Who are you?!

 

Henry, who we see hiding in a cramped basement under a dinghy restaurant somewhere on Milky Way, explains himself to them and reveals he’s patched them up to T-Bot’s signal, so they can get in touch with Joel and Kira and Packer wouldn’t know. He also confirms through tracking data that Joel and Kira have made it to Khouga, which gives Packer another sigh of relief. Barks tells him they’ll be heading back to Milky Way so they can send his children a message from there.

 

We cut to Hoag’s port, where Plains tells his subordinates he’s taking a trip to Sunflower to see a doctor since he’s feeling a bit ill. Just before they head out, Packer arrives and tells him he’s going to bring a prisoner to the medical ward since, in his words, the prisoner claims to have fallen gravely ill. We found out the “prisoner” is a drugged out Be’Tram. On board the transport pod, we see Be’Tram slumping over as Plains expresses his surprise that Packer would allow a Scavenger to be treated humanely. That’s when something strange happens: An assistant to Plains picks up increasing heat signals coming from Be’Tram. Thinking he’s succumbing to high fever, Plains orders medical personnel to check on the prisoner. They rip up his prison uniform and discover, to a mix and surprise and confusion, a device strapped to Be’Tram’s body.

 

Plains: ...What the hell?!

 

At that moment, Barks, Lucina and Helms are walking past Hoag’s observation deck heading towards the port when a bright light coming from outside suddenly blinds them. The ship Plains is on explodes into a million pieces that fly in all directions, striking both Hoag and the nearby Sunflower causing minor damage to both ships (including large cracks in the observatory window). While people are running around in panic around them, Barks, Lucina and Helms share a look of confusion and fear. Henry peeks out of hiding spot to see people huddling around a live broadcast of the remains of Plain’s ship floating in space. “That can’t be good…” he tells himself.

 

It’s night time on Khouga. Joel plants a device that simulates a campfire while emanating heat, allowing them to brace a freezing night. Suddenly, T-Bot rattles and his eyes represented by two cameras begin glowing green.

 

Joel: What’s happening to you?

T-Bot: I don’t know, I didn’t build myself!

[ a video protrudes out from T-Bot’s front ]

T-Bot: Oh no… This is how I die, isn’t it?! Fleshling, do something!

Joel: W-what do you want me to do?!

T-Bot: I don’t know, just- [ shuts off ]

Joel: T-Bot? T-Bot?!

Henry: [ appears on the screen ] What’s up, Joel?

Joel: ...I see you made it. Where are you now?

Henry: [ looks around ] ...I’d rather not tell. It’s gross. I’ve got your dad and the captain on the other end, you want me to patch you through to them?

Joel: Do that!

Henry: You didn’t say the magic word...

Joel: [ sighs ] ...Please.

[ Henry opens up a second feed showing Barks and Lucina huddled in front of a tiny camera. ]

Joel: Dad!

Barks: Are you both alright?! Thanks heavens...

Lucina: Are all our talks gonna be like this? I don’t feel comfortable pressing my face against you, Barks!

Barks: Where’s Kira?

Joel: She’s over there… I think she’s having a bit of an alcohol withdrawal.

Kira: [ rolls around in the dirt ] Man, do I wish I hadn’t rejected that brandy…

Joel: It probably wasn’t that good!

Lucina: Actually I can confirm it’s a heavenly delight! ...Well, compared to brandy made from artificial grapes, anyway.

 

Barks tells Joel and Kira what had happened to Captain Plains. Apparently a Scavenger was on his his ship and killed him in a suicide bombing (as we’ve seen, this isn’t exactly true) and now some of the captains are starting to change their minds on Packer’s call for war. Joel assumes (correctly) the bomber was Be’Tram, and he looks concerningly at Tamara across the campfire petting Reese. He chooses to not tell her what happened to Be’Tram. Barks asks Joel if he’s still comfortable trusting Tamara, and Joel says he still is.

 

We cut to Tamara asleep a while later and waking up from a series of grunts she’s hearing. She leans over and sees Joel shaking and sweating in his sleep. She wakes Kira and who immediately grabs another doser from Joel’s bag and shoves it in Joel’s neck which puts him back to sleep. Kira and Tamara share a look of concern.

 

Morning comes. Joel washes his face in a nearby riverbed and uses the reflection to check on his big black stain. It’s grown a little which is a cause of concern for him. Then he hears something. Something like revving engines. He walks back to the camp to find Tamara still asleep and Kira looking at something in the distance.

 

Kira: I think we got company...

T-Bot: [ rolls up to them ] What is it, a parade?

Reese: [ curious ]

Joel: ...We have to move. Quickly.

 

The objects in the distance get larger and larger, eventually revealed to be Scavenger hoverbikes speeding towards them across the open field. The siblings wake up Tamara and tells her they have to go. They make a run for it but T-Bot doesn’t prove to be fast.

 

T-Bot: Hey, wait up!

Joel: What are you waiting for?!

T-Bot: I’m trying to catch up to you, stupid!

Joel: Go faster, then!

T-Bot: I can’t, my top speed is four miles an hour!

 

Joel grumbles and carries T-Bot while they all do a mad dash towards the valley but the hoverbikes soon catch up to them. The riders fire their nets at them which snatches Kira, then Reese and then Joel/T-Bot while leaving Tamara alone. The riders circle around them before their leader steps out and removes his helmet, revealing a handsome-looking Scavenger named Re’Ziak underneath.

 

Rez: (...Ta?)

Tamara: (...Re.)

Rez: (You’re alive. And you came back…)

Tamara: (Re, let them go… please.)

Rez: [ looks at the humans ] (Ta, you know I can’t do that.)

Kira: Hey, we’re buddies with your princess, let us out!

Joel: Hnng… Hnnngg…

Kira: Or give that guy what’s in the bag, whatever you do! [ points at the dosers ]

[ Joel is whacked in the head instead and he passes out. ]

Kira: ...Or do that, that works too.

 

We cut briefly to Henry in his hiding place. He notices that T-Bot’s communications server is suddenly offline, which is strange since he didn’t turn him off. He sends a message to Lucina and Barks when he hears stomping coming from upstairs, and what sounds like someone telling someone else that he’s hiding under the floorboard. The board rips open and Henry is greeted by several H.F:F rifles pointing at him.

 

Henry: ...Hiyah, fellas! What seems to be the problem?

Officer: Henry Quartz XII, you are under arrest for participation in treason against the human race!

[ Henry turns with a sad look on his face to the chef of the restaurant, a fat blue alien. ]

Henry: Grixznik, why?!

Grixznik: (You’re eating me out of the house, kid! I can’t keep serving Kati rolls to freeloaders!)

Henry: But they were good kati rolls!

Grixznik: (I’ve got eighteen kids to feed, Henry!)

Henry: ...Fine! Those rolls sucked anyway!

 

Henry is taken away and we cut to Joel waking up to the sound of a crowd. He lifts himself up to find he, Kira are trapped in a cage (with Reese being led by guards behind them) and paraded around the Khouga capital, which is revealed to be this massive circular settlement with a Tower of Babel-esque spire as its centerpiece representing the royal palace. The two humans are met with either intense curiosity or words of malice from the onlookers, with comments made about their bizarre appearances (by their standards).

 

Kira: [ leans through the bars ] The mockery doesn’t sting if I can’t understand you!

[ Kira gets a vegetable thrown in her face. ]

Joel: You probably should’ve seen that coming, sis.

Kira: …

 

While they get bombarded with all kinds of dishes Reese spots a young Scavenger girl dropping her doll. He grabs it and hands it back to her, but is pushed along by the guards. They’re brought to the palace and ascended a ton of stairs before they reach the throne room. They’re let out of the cage and put in cuffs before they’re brought before the king himself, Te’Chek. Te’Chek lifts himself up with his cane and walks over to the two prisoners, glaring at them intensely while he approaches them (the CG artists have gone as far as recreating Whitaker’s lazy eye for his character). Tamara is also brought into the room, albeit not in cuffs, and Te’Chek goes directly into berating her.

 

Kira: [ whispers ] What are they saying?

Joel: I’m trying to figure it out… I learned a few words out on the battlefield but he’s got a thick dialect on…

Te’Chek: (You defied everything I told you so you could bring those monsters here?!)

Tamara: (Father, I wanted you to negotiate with them, but you would never listen to me!)

Te’Chek: (Because your head is filled with falsehoods! Lies! These savages can’t be reasoned with!)

Tamara: (They would if you weren’t a stubborn old fool!)

Kira: Uh, hi, my name is Kira, and we were looking for this crashed ship called Andromeda, so if you can just point us in that direction we’ll be on our way- [ gets kneecapped by Te’Chek’s cane ] GAH!!

Te’Chek: (You speak, when I say you speak! Which is never!)

[ A hunter walks in and drops a deactivated T-Bot on the floor. ]

Te’Chek: (What concoction is this?!)

Hunter: (This robot kept blasting electromagnetic pulses at us preventing our ships from flying, my liege. We had to rip out his power source to make him stop.)

Te’Chek: (...Dissect it. See if it holds of anything of value. As for the humans… Put the girl in chains. Throw the boy to the arena.)

Tamara: (NO! FATHER! YOU CAN’T-)

Te’Chek: (YOU HAVE ERODED ANY AND ALL TRUST I HAD OF YOU!! YOU DON’T GET SPEAK NO LONGER!)

Tamara: (...Not like you had much trust of me to begin with.)

Te’Chek: ([ scoffs and turns to his guards ] Take her to her chambers. Make sure she stays there. )

 

Tamara is dragged away before Joel and Kira are also removed from the premises, the Scavenger guards closing the door to the throne room before we briefly see Te’Chek begin coughing in his chair. We cut to Joel being thrown into a dungeon. He tries to break through the bars but they won’t budge. Trapped and nowhere to go, he sits down by the wall of his cell and sulks for a bit. He’s approached by Rez.

 

Joel: And what do you want?

Rez: The princess looked mighty concerned when the king said you were going to be thrown to the arena…

Joel: ...So you do speak human?

Rez: I’ve been to many places in the galaxy, human. I’ve picked up your language over time. ...So Ta did manage to make friends with the humans?

Joel: Ta? Is that like a nickname?

Rez: Ta’Mara. That’s her full name. First name Ta, last name Mara.

Joel: ...Right. She didn’t make many friends over there besides me and my sister.

Rez: ...Sister? I’m sorry, I’ve read up on your species and you two look nothing alike! Your skin is not even the same color!

Joel: Kira’s been my sister for as long as I remember. That’s all I know.

 

The two elaborate a bit on themselves back and forth and on why Joel came here. Rez reveals he’s a Scavenger nobleman that’s actually betrothed to Tamara (which gives Joel pause) but he actually has no interest in marrying her (which gives Joel relief) since it would mean he’d be pinned down. Plus he’s not exactly high on the war between them and the humans either since it causes a lot of issues for him when he’s out living the bachelor’s life across the galaxy. Joel asks what Tamara’s relationship is with her father, and Rez simply responds that it’s been colder than a desert night for a long time now.

 

Joel: ...So what’ll they do to me?

Rez: They’ll put you in the arena. Have you fight to the death with some brute.

Joel: [ sighs ] Part of me would almost welcome death by this point...

Rez: ...You just gave me an idea, human. I’ll be back!

Joel: Hey wait, where’re you-

 

Rez leaves before Joel can stop him. He rushes up to the throne and demands an audience with Te’Chek, which he grants albeit he demands he’ll make it short. Rez hastily tells him he offers to fight Joel in the arena, since he’s betrothed to Tamara and he claims that Joel “stole his bride”. Buying Rez’s claim, Te’Chek ponders before a bit before accepting his offer. Rez heads back to the dungeon and lays out his plan for Joel: the two will fight until Rez “kills” Joel, then Joel (playing dead) will be taken to the mortuary on the other side of the city where he can “rise from the dead” and escape. Joel asks how he’s going to help Kira, Tamara and the robots, and Rez says he’ll think up a plan for them too, he’ll just have to act out his.

 

Joel: Before we do this, you need to understand something about me-

Rez: See you in the arena, Joel! I’ll find an exit route for your sister and the princess, don’t worry!

Joel: Re’Ziak, WAIT!!! [ Rez leaves again before Joel can stop him ] ...Shit!

 

Rez finds Kira having been turned into a servant for some other nobles. The nobles invite Rez to take a seat with them at the dining table and Rez asks immediately for Kira’s attention.

 

Kira: If you’re expecting anything more from me than serving you food you’ll get a foot to your face, cockroach…

Rez: I’m not here to get anything from you, I’m here to help you and your brother out.

Kira: ...Why?

Rez: All you need to do right now is take this…

[ Rez hands Kira a rectangular object which she hides in her outfit. ]

Rez: Wait for my signal, and throw it against something with preferably as few people possible close to it.

Kira: ...Wait, is that a grenade?!

Rez: Don’t say it out loud! ...You wanna bust your way out or not?

Kira: ...Sure. When’s the signal?

Rez: Make sure you are in the audience seats. Your brother’s about to fight for his life.

 

Rez finds Reese (who’s being guarded) and hands him a similar object. Not understanding the noises Reese makes, he assumes Reese gets the intent. Joel is taken out of his cell, strapped on shoddy-looking armor and given rusty swords and knives before he’s pushed out to the arena. Tamara hears the chants from her balcony. She asks the guard stationed at her door if she can go to the public bathroom, claiming her own is broken. The guard doubts her and goes inside her bathroom to prove her wrong, only be struck in the back of the head by her before she escapes. We cut to Joel slowly walking out to the arena as the massive crowd all boo collectively at him and even throws garbage in his path. On the far end of the arena up by the podium, Te’Chek arrives to the accompaniment of the entire crowd paying their dues to him until the announcer tells them to hush.

 

Announcer: (Today, we FIGHT, not amongst ourselves looking for glory… or profit… but for VENGEANCE! Against the HUMAN!!)

[ crowd cheers ]

Announcer: (A mere act of gratification for their misdeeds against us?! Or a TASTE of what’s to come?!)

[ crowd cheers some more ]

Announcer: ...What is your name, human?

Joel: ...Joel.

Announcer: LOUDER!

Joel: JOEL!!

Announcer: (Remember his NAME, people of Khouga! JOEL, in his aura of DECEPTION, has besmitten our weak-minded princess! For that her BELOVED wishes to deliver the killing blow HIMSELF!)

[ The crowds erupts. Joel sees Kira up the aisles serving drinks to noblemen. She glances back at him. ]

Announcer: (And hereby I give: the UNRIVALED champion of arena! The future KING of Khouga! RE’ZIAK!!!)

 

The crowd goes into a frenzy as the gates open up and Rez steps out in steel armor with a barrage of sharp swords, knives and even a hook tied to a chain.

 

Joel: ...Bit excessive, don’t you think?!

Rez: What? It’s my usual getup!

[ Rez looks up at Te’Chek, awaiting the go-ahead. ]

Te’Chek: (...Break his bones and crush his skull.)

 

Rez throws his hook at Joel who dodges it by a hair’s length, startling him and Kira up in the aisles.

 

Joel: What the hell, I thought we were pretending?!

Rez: It has to look as real as possible! Dodge! [ swings the hook again, which barely misses Joel again. ]

Joel: Rez, if you put me under enough pressure it’s going to get really bad!

Rez: Great! That’s what the crowd wants to see!

 

Rez lunges at Joel and begins punching in the face repeatedly. Kira tries to scream at him to stop but she’s drowned out by the crowd. “What are you waiting for?! FIGHT BACK!” Rez shouts at Joel as he continues pummeling him… until Joel lets out his scream and he and the whole arena goes quiet. Joel strikes Rez right in the chest and sends him flying to the shock and awe of the audience. Rez flips and lands on a warrior pose to the relief of the crowd, then sees Joel at the other side out for blood.

 

Rez: Now THAT’s what I wanted from you! Keep going!

 

The two brawl intensely, Rez not realising Joel’s lost control of himself, as we cut to Reese in his holding area still grappling to the grenade. He casually activates it but he’s spooked by the beeping noise and throws it away, causing a pretty big explosion which takes out the wall. He casually walks away while guards arrive and see the blast hole wondering what the hell just happened. On the way out, Reese finds the deactivated T-Bot and Tamara rushing down the stairs.

 

Reese: [ happy ]

Tamara: Reese! I’m so glad you’re okay! We need to save Joel!

Reese: [ points at ships flying by ]

Tamara: Yes, yes! We need a ship! Good boy!

 

The two rush to find a flyer while Kira, in an attempt to distract the crowd, ignores Rez’s orders and throws the grenade up in the sky, causing a massive explosion which descends the crown into panic. The frightened noblemen leave behind the lockpin which allows Kira to release herself from her chains.

 

Rez: [ looks up ] Wait, she wasn’t supposed to-

 

Rez is tackled by Joel and Joel returns the pummeling he got earlier. Kira leaps over the fences and tries to lead Joel away from Rez. Tamara and Reese located a decent flyer in the hangar (pushing a guy out while Tamara says “Sorry!”) and they fly towards the arena as Kira tricks Joel into attacking her for which she leaps on his back and chokes him into unconsciousness, ending the fight. Tamara and Reese arrive and tell everyone to hop on board. They escape the arena as Te’Chek looks on, stopping anyone from firing on the ship for it carries his daughter. Up in the sky, the group fly away from the capital.

 

Kira: They’re not following us…

Tamara: Father may be cold, but he wouldn’t blast me out of the sky! [ looks at an unconscious Joel ] Kira, is he gonna be ok-

[ Rez leaps on top of Joel, scaring Tamara. ]

Rez: WAKE UP! [ gives Joel a hard slap to the face. ]

Joel: GAH!! I’m up!

Rez: What did back there, that was… INCREDIBLE! I’ve never felt so alive!

Kira: If he kept at you longer, you would’ve been dead!

Joel: Urgh… I tried to tell you, Rez…

Rez: Tell me what?

Joel: [ moans in pain ] I’ll… I’ll explain later… I need to lie down for a bit…

Kira: Rest all you can, Joel… Andromeda’s coming up next.

Joel: …

 

Somewhere on the H.F.F, we see Henry being blinded by a light in a pitch dark room. He finds himself strapped to a chair as the light is pulled away from him to reveal Packer has caught him. Henry makes a few joking remarks at Packer’s looks before he’s silenced when Packer reveals his men have cracked the code to T-Bot’s encrypted signal and listened to all the recordings up until T-Bot was deactivated, so know they know where they are and they too can enter Khouga undetected. Henry still seems unafraid of Packer, but shows visible concern for his mates.

 

Packer: ...Do you know what true strength is? I mean strength from man, not from your computers.

Henry: ...Valor? Honor? Bravery? I’m just throwing words out here.

Packer: ...Potential.

Henry: Not my first pick, but okay.

Packer: Every single one of us has potential. We only need to find it within ourselves. You found yours when you became an expert hacker. Joel was about to find his when he became a warrior. I… found mine through this.

[ Packer reveals his strains have gone even further up his neck. ]

Henry: ...That does not look healthy.

[ Packer brings out a scolding hot iron he’s dipped in melted metal and holds it against Henry, who starts shaking. ]

Henry: A...a…Admiral… what are you doing?!

Packer: Showing you true potential.

Henry: No! No! NOO!!!

 

Henry braces himself for having the hot iron shoved in him, but instead Packer flips it and sticks it in his own neck. Despite the smoke coming out from the frying iron as it touches his coarse and pitch black neck, Packer is unflinching. He removes it, showing the burn mark that’s quickly overtaken and hardened by the Pallasyne. Henry sweats and pants profusely meanwhile.

 

Packer: ...Still tickles a little bit.

[ He places his hand on Henry’s shoulder, which makes Henry yelp in terror. He then holds the still scolding hot iron in front of Henry’s face.]

Packer: I want you to build me a code.

 

Back on Khouga, the group reaches a fairly large crater which they ascend on foot. The camera follows them as they ascend the hill, soon revealing the remains of H.F:F Andromeda scattered before them. Joel and Kira flinch at the sight of it. The mainframe is still intact after all these years, and Joel uses goggles to see on the far other end several hovertrucks entering and exiting through the nose of the ship, an area that is also heavily guarded.

 

Rez: We can’t fight all of them by ourselves. Not while it’s still bright outside, anyway.

Kira: You’re suggesting we wait?

Joel: If Valden’s still in there, he’s not leaving anytime soon.

 

They set up camp on Andromeda’s rear end, which is still several miles away from Valden’s base. Reese finds a spare power battery which he uses to bring T-Bot back to life. We cut to the sun starting to set as Rez has just had everything explained to him

 

Rez: So I’m just going to make sure I understand this correctly: The admiral wants to launch an attack on Khouga, but if you find this guy who turned you into… what you are… and bring in him, there’s a chance you can convince the admiral to change his mind and enter peace negotiations, even though our king is not willing to hold any talks, in return for handing him… just one guy… over.

Kira: That’s the plan. The short version of it, anyway.

Rez: If that was your entire plan you have amazingly failed!

Reese: [ sad ]

Rez: I don’t know this Packer guy, I’ve only heard of him in passing, but if he really wants to blows us all up… Why do you think anything’s going to stop him?

Joel: ...We have to have hope, right?

Rez: ...Yeah. Hope. The most useless word in the dictionary.

Kira: You went Negative Nelly all of a sudden!

 

Rez and Kira begin arguing amongst themselves as Joel sees Tamara sitting by herself overlooking the sunset. She reaches into her gown and reveals she’s carrying an amulet, and proceeds to gaze longingly at it. She tries to hide when she sees Joel. She insists Joel not see her wear it, but he convinces her to show it. Joel sees that it is one of the flowers from the valley, and Tamara explains that it’s an amulet her mother gave her at her deathbed. The royal family were the only ones who knew of her little private valley, and her mother would often cover for her when she snuck out. When she was eight, however, she fell very ill. In a desperate move, Tamara brought one the flowers back to the capital and mixed it with a medicine of her own hoping it’d cure her mother (when Joel questions it, Tamara points out she was just a child). At first it seemed to work as the queen started feeling better, but something happened… Her mother began developing the same black strains Joel has across her body (which is why she took interest in Joel’s condition from the start) and within a matter of months it had infected her completely and was now killing her instead. Completely stumped, Te’Chek is told in one scene that his wife probably won’t survive the night. Tamara overhears this and rushes to her mother to see her once last time. Her mother passes away while the young Tamara holds her hand and, thinking she caused this, runs away crying. Tamara says it’s the same night when she was escaping the capital and escaping to her field of flowers to drown in her own sorrow that she caught wind of a piece of debris from Andromeda blowing in her direction. To escape her grief, she began seeking down Andromeda and they all know the rest from there. She begins tearing up thinking about her mother, but to her surprise Joel hugs her, and they both sit there holding each other tight for some time. Joel brings Tamara to the others, the two holding hands like schoolchildren.

 

Kira: Ha! Called it!

Rez: So you’re just gonna hold hands with my fiancée, eh?

Tamara: [ blushes and lets go of Joel’s hand ] Rez, I...

Rez: Nah, I’m good. Means I don’t have to explain anything to the king.

T-Bot: Aw, how sweet! No wait, I’m a robot, I don’t care!

Joel: ...Glad to have you back, T-Bot.

Reese: [ idea ]

T-Bot: Wait, what do you mean by that?

[ Reese starts tapping on T-Bot before he presses a button which brings up a hidden screen. ]

Joel: ...Is that a record player?

T-Bot: Yeah, that brat put a lot of pointless crap in me!

Tamara: ...Is that…? Oh, by my ancestors, I love this song!

T-Bot: NOOO DON’T DO IT-

 

Tamara presses the screen and T-Bot begins playing Bee Gees “How Deep is your Love” to her squeeling delight.

 

(0:17-1:14)

Tamara: I listened to this all the time in the library, it’s great!

Rez: It’s been on for five seconds and I already hate it!

Tamara: Come on, Joel!

Joel: Uh...me?

 

Tamara pulls Joel to herself and wants him to dance with her. Joel says he’s never really been much of a dancer but Tamara promises she’ll help him out. Watching her brother embarrass himself with the princess causes Kira to cringe extremely hard and she simulates shooting herself in the head..

 

(1:15-2:09)

We get a montage of various other characters: Packer is overlooking the Hoag militarizing, coughing some more forcing him to put on his breathing tube. We compare that with Te’Chek, stepping off his throne and heading to bed, struggling to get there as he the aid of his chambermaids. We see a dismayed Barks sees the same militarization going on that Packer does, Helms at his desk seeing the vote announcement and pondering, and Lucina on a bench in central Milky Way at night getting sullenly drunk on her brandy. She then throws the empty bottle away before grabbing a new one.

 

(2:10-2:25)

A pair of guards enter Henry’s holding cell (where there’s a desk and a computer) only to find Henry’s no longer there. Confused at first, they then see a burning hole in the floor and a melted computer on the far bottom.

 

(2:26-)

Joel and Tamara continue dancing with the camera swirling around them, Joel even lending his partner to Reese who makes happy noises while Tamara giggles at him. He then lends Tamara back to Joel before the two lovebirds trip and land beside each other, gazing into each other’s eyes and laughing heartily.

 

“GET DOWN!” shouts Rez as he pushes the two out of the way while the music comes to an abrupt stop (3:10) and a hover truck flies right past them. Rez tells them the last batch of hovertrucks are leaving Andromeda and it’s time for them to break inside, while chastising them for being too busy making fools of themselves. Joel and Tamara both turn from each other blushing.

 

They venture into Andromeda’s mainframe and both Reese and T-Bot use their lights to illuminate their path through the destroyed ship. Several man-made holes have been torn in the walls Barks used to separate the port side from the starboard, and they see a rigging system set up where packages would pass through them. They see a few guards walking past but instead of engaging them they choose to either sneak past them or stealthily take out some of them so as to not alert Valden should he still be here. What they don’t know is that they’re already expected, as someone in the shadows sends a message to an unseen individual through comms. They find where Tamara says the library still was, only to come across a large steel door put it in its place. Tamara, seeing what Valden had done to it, clenches her fist.

 

T-Bot uses dampeners so they can open the door as quietly as possible so as to not attract attention. They enter a large, dark chamber, which Tamara recognizes as the library, just with all the shelves missing. The background soundtrack, which has been fairly low-key and suspenseful in this scene up until now, phases out entirely.

 

Valden: ...Hello, Joel.

 

A tiny window lights up several dozen feet behind Joel. He turns to face the light, seeing a man’s head through it. The camera follows him as he slowly approaches the light (think Javier Bardem’s reveal in Skyfall but in reverse).

 

Joel: ...Valden.

Valden: How’s my pet project holding up?

Joel: Things have changed since you left.

Valden: For the worse, I take it? Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.

Joel: I’m here to bring you in.

Valden: Is the admiral seeking me? Or did you seek me yourself? My little birdies told me how you performed in the capital. You did most admirably.

 

Joel (and the camera) comes face to face with Valden, standing on the other side of the windowed door and smiling devilishly.

 

Valden: This is a titanium steel door designed to protect me from the blast of a fifty-megaton nuke. I doubt you’d be able to punch your way through it. Even this window wouldn’t receive a scratch.

Joel: We have a robot with an EMP ready. Should open this door easily.

Valden: This door is only driven by hydraulics, Joel, not electricity. I’m afraid we can’t trade hugs.

Joel: ...Then I want answer.

Valden: Which answers?

Joel: The antidote. Do you have it, and where is it?

Valden: … … … … … [ wheezes ] HAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! [ deep breath ] The antidote?! Not on this side of the universe, kid!

Joel: I call bullshit. If you aren’t here to make a cure, what are you doing then?

Valden: Me? ...I’m perfecting it. Well, trying to perfect it anyway. Removing the toxin has been proven… more difficult than I expected. But when I’m done, I have buyers from all over the universe waiting for me.

[ Tamara walks up to Valden, locking eyes with him. ]

Valden: ...You’ve made friends, Joel. This seems like a cute one. Is she aware of what’s happening to you?

Joel: She’s seen the strains, yes.

Valden: Then she knows what happens when you reach the final stages, right? You don’t have to worry about that too much, Joel. Once it hits, it hits pretty quick.

Tamara: ....What happens?

Valden: It changes you. Takes control of you. Your mind becomes a vessel for it. And by that point… all it wants is destruction.

Joel: ...Like Packer.

Valden: Why yes, indeed! I heard the admiral’s not doing too hot these days.

[ Joel, Kira, Rez, Tamara and the robots all look at each other with growing concern before Joel turns back to Valden. ]

Joel: We’re still bringing you in. You have many people to answer for.

Valden: ...I’m afraid I can’t, Joel. I have places to be. Places you’ll probably never get to.

 

Valden pushes a button and a detonation goes off in the ceiling above the group, Valden vanishes from sight as the group have to duck and cover from the collapsing rubble. Once the dust has cleared, Valden’s men (a mix of humans and aliens) enter the chamber and begin firing at them. They trade bullets back and forth for a bit but Joel’s gang eventually wins the firefight. They rush outside to see Valden escaping on his own cruiser, and Tamara assumes he’s heading for the eternal storm so he can leave the planet undetected. With no time to waste Rez leaps on a passing hover vehicle and throws its driver out, inviting the rest to hop on.

 

The chase goes on through the Khougan landscape as the sun starts to rise. Valden tries to use the landscape to his advantage to throw them off but knowing the landscape herself Tamara has an easy time following him. Kira and Rez try to snipe Valden’s engines to bring the cruiser down but Valden sweers out of the way every time.

 

Kira: I’m out! Rez, you got any?!

Rez: I’m out too! Bastard’s too stubborn to quit!

Reese: [ idea ]

T-Bot: Uhh… no, I’m not doing that!

Joel: Doing what?

T-Bot: Blasting an EMP! It’ll take us both out!

Joel: ...Do it!

T-Bot: But-

Joel: Just do it! Everybody, hang on!

 

T-Bot blasts his EMP which reaches Valden’s vehicle, shutting both cruisers down. Valden’s ship comes crashing down and flipping over several times and flung past a hill. The group’s ship meanwhile crashlands but doesn’t cause any major injuries to those on board. They rush over the hill to discover that Valden’s landed in Tamara’s valley of flowers, the burning wreckage against the rising sun providing a stark contrast to the serene beauty of the rest of the field. Valden, badly injured, crawls out and attempts to make a run for it, but seeing them about to catch up to him he stops in his tracks, pulls out a gun and puts it to his head.

 

Kira: Valden, WAIT!

Valden: [ shaking ] I can’t go back to the fleet! I just can’t!

Tamara: We could help you! We can make sure you won’t come to harm!

Valden: ...No. It’s too late for me.

Joel: If nothing else, tell me this: what is the Pallasyne made out of?! What’s the secret ingredient?!

Valden: If you really want to know... look around you.

 

Valden pulls the trigger. We cut to his blood spraying in trinkets across the flowers. A silhouetted image shows Valden falling to the ground and everyone reacting to it. Joel shields Tamara from seeing any further.

 

We cut to Barks sitting outside a conference room on Hoag. He tries to see if he can hear something from the inside, but it’s all quiet in there. Then the doors open. The five captains step out and Hebert, Hemphill and Juan all walk past Barks without saying anything. He sees Lucina standing by herself and walks up to her. She tries to avoid making eye contact with him.

 

Barks: ...But Packer needed two-thirds of the vote… It’s five of you, he’d need at least four to… to…

 

Barks turns and sees Helms. Helms doesn’t share the same look of dismay that Lucina does, but rather he gives Barks an intense glare. Barks walks up to him.

 

Barks: ...Why?

Helms: ...They killed Plains. They’re not gonna stop, Barks. Why should we?

Barks: I-I don’t think Plains was killed by-

 

Helms ignores Barks and pushes past him. Barks is left standing there as Lucina quietly walks away too. Barks attempts to collect himself.

 

We cut to Barks traveling with haste to Packer’s office, which is up a tall tower. He tries to storm into his office but finds Packer’s not there. Instead he’s up on the top, an observation deck observing all of Hoag’s facilities. Packer leans on the railing as Barks slowly approaches him. He sees that Packer’s holding a tablet showing him something, and he leans over Packer’s shoulder to see what it is. We see people, a woman and her child, in their apartment as tremors are suddenly felt around them. The woman tries to assure the now crying child but the whole building starts to rumble, and through the windows he sees the tower on the opposing side suddenly fast approaching theirs. A collision is made between the towers and the last we see of the woman and child she’s holding him in his arms when the roof gives way and buries them both. Barks takes a step back. Packer puts the tablet away and turns to him.

 

Packer: ...I heard the vote went well.

Barks: Packer… this is not gonna end well for either us or them..

Packer: ...Does it matter?

Barks: W-w-what’s that supposed to mean?!

Packer: You’ll see. In due time.

Barks: ...Is this really about creating a new Terra?

Packer: ...No.

Barks: Then what is it about?!

Packer: …

Barks:  Look, I understand what you’ve been through. I was there!

Packer: And you didn’t save them.

Barks: Damn it, Packer! I’ve told you a million times, I couldn’t-

Packer: LIES!!!

Barks: …

Packer: LIES! EVERY. WORD OF IT. LIES!!!

Barks: ...I couldn’t save them. Believe me, I tried.

 

Packer glares at him for a long time, then pulls out his gun and places it against Barks’ forehead. Barks is shaking, but tries to keep his posture.

 

Barks: [ heavy breathing ] ...If meaningless vengeance is all that matters to you, just pull the trigger.

 

Packer’s finger leans in on the trigger, but he’s stopped from firing when he begins coughing and choking. He drops the gun and reaches for his breathing tube. Barks proceeds to vomit over the railing. Packer sits down on a nearby chair, watching Barks try to collect himself. He then tells Barks to leave, and Barks scuddles away, looking back at Packer with dismay at what he’s become.

 

Back on Khouga, the group are attempting to gather themselves after watching Valden shoot himself. With their only bargaining chip gone, they’re not sure where to turn to.

 

Joel: ...We have to go back regardless. Packer’s losing his mind, we need to stop him.

Rez: “We?” This isn’t a “we” any longer. This is a “you”.

Joel: W-what do you mean?

Rez: You believed the bargaining power of one person could change the fate of both of our species. And now you don’t even have that. I think it’s over.

Tamara: Rez, you can’t mean that…

Rez: ...I’m sorry, Tamara. But we only have two options left:. Stay and die, or run like hell.

Tamara: No! We can still negotiate with them! I’m the crown princess of Khouga, they have to listen to me-

Kira: No they won’t, Tamara!

Joel: Kira, what are you doing?

Tamara: ...Why wouldn’t they?

Kira: One of yours blew up an H.F.F transport ship a few days ago and killed the Hoag’s captain.

Joel: Kira, stop...

Kira: They’re out for blood.

Joel: Kira!

Kira: Sorry Joel, it’s time you’re honest with your new girlfriend.

Rez: ...Who was it? Who was the bomber?

Tamara: [ shaking ] ...Be’Tram...?

Kira: Joel thinks so, yes.

Tamara: [ turns to Joel ] ...Be’Tram’s dead? You knew?!

Joel: ...I...I didn’t know how to-

[ Tamara takes a step back from Joel. ]

Kira: Face it, princess. You dragged us all the way out here for nothing.

 

Tamara looks at both of them in a mix of dismay, disgust and betrayal, and then runs away. Joel reaches out after her, but she’s already down the valley at that point. Reese still makes a valiant attempt and runs after Tamara. Rez walks past the two humans with a determined look on his face.

 

Rez: If any of you wants a ride out of this planet, let me know.

[ Rez walks on and T-Bot rolls up to Joel. ]

T-Bot: ...You’re gonna be alright, fleshling?

Joel: Why do you suddenly care?

T-Bot: You and bug girl made kind of a cute couple. Shame. I honestly started to wonder what your babies would look like.

 

T-Bot rolls away, leaving the two siblings to sit on the mountainside staring out into empty nothing and ponder. Joel turns to see his sister starting to tear up.

 

Joel: Are you… are you crying?

Kira: [ sniffs ] There was that part of me who thought she might have been right. And I hoped beyond all hope Valden had the antidote... [ sniffs ] And I’m going the next few years watching you die while the human race goes under… I… I can’t bear it...

 

Joel hugs her sister and tries to comfort her, telling her it’s going to be alright even as he knows it’s not. We see Reese finding Tamara among her flowers and nudges at her like a sad puppy would. Tamara pushes him away, but he keeps nudging. Eventually she screams at him to go away but Reese chooses to stay. She breaks down in tears in front of him and Reese comforts her.

 

Joel starts hearing a sound coming from the distance. A sound of revving engines, but different than the ones from before. He stands up and tries to stare into the distance. Kira asks him what’s wrong before she starts hearing it too. Two black dots on the horizon are fast approaching them, and it soon becomes clear they’re H.F.F fighters.

 

Kira: They’re here… they came to save us!

Joel: Kira… I don’t think they’re friendly…

Kira: Dad must’ve sent them! [ runs towards the ships while shouting “Hey, over here!” ]

Joel: Kira, wait!

 

The two ships land with a dozen H.F.F troops as Kira runs up to them expecting to get aid when one of the soldiers instead whacks Kira across the face and they all aim their rifles at Joel before grabbing him and pinning him to the ground. One officer puts a strange-looking device on the ground which brings up a holographic projection of Packer from his office. He thanks Joel for leading his men here, revealing to them that T-Bot was an unwitting spy for them all along. Speaking of T-Bot, one soldier finds the robot and rips off his new batteries, shutting him off again. Joel hears Tamara’s screams coming from the valley and he sees to his horror Tamara being dragged away and thrown on board the ship. Reese tries to stop the soldier holding Tamara but is beaten back by several of them. Rez manages to hide from the soldiers but sees there’s too many of them for him to fight back alone. Packer reveals he’s keeping Tamara hostage for his own gratitude, for he wants her to watch as the fleet descends on Khouga. As for the others…

 

Kira: I don’t care what you do, just get me off this goddamn planet!

Packer: ...No. I want you here when it all burns.

Kira: OH, COME ON!!

 

Packer ends the feed by saying he’ll enjoy meeting the two again when the invasion begins, if the Scavengers don’t tear their limbs out first. The two ships leave with Tamara on board screaming after Joel, and Joel tries to chase them on foot pushing his abilities to the absolute limit, but he is dismayed when he fails to catch up to them and watches the ships vanish into the horizon.

 

Joel: GODDAMMIT!! [ falls to his knees ] GOD. DAMN IT! [ pounds the ground so hard sand starts spraying everywhere ]

Rez: [ walks up to him ] ...I told you it was hopeless to reason with him.

 

Joel is dismayed at first, but he sees that Tamara left the amulet. He grabs it, clenches it tightly in his first, then immediately storms right past Rez.

 

Rez: Wait, you’re going after him?! Good luck doing without a functioning ship!

Joel: I’ll find my goddamn ship! With or without you!

[ Joel leaves behind Rez, who’s standing there all befuddled. ]

Rez: [ sighs ] (Ancestors damn me…) [ runs up to Joel ] I’ll back you up just this once, but only to save her! If you want to stop the war after that, you’re on your own!

 

Kira gets up and sees Joel walking past her all enraged, and chooses not to say anything. They find Reese in a bit of a tuffle and T-Bot shut off, but Joel gets Reese up and running again.

 

Kira: If we’re going after Packer we need a ship with hyperdrive capability! Where would we even find something like that?!

Rez: There’s a few of them in the hangar bay but they’re heavily guarded so its too risky… unless…

Kira: Unless what?

Rez: Te’Chek has one. It’s in a hidden room in his palace. We can get him to open it for us!

Kira: Uhh I hate to burst your bubble, but the king won’t be any less guarded than the hangar!

Rez: …

Kira: ...Right?

Rez: Guys… Te’Chek’s dying.

Joel/Kira: What?!

Reese: [ surprise ]

Rez: It’s been coming at him fast and they expect him to keel over any day now. I think it’s the same disease Tamara’s mother had. He kept it hidden from Tamara because he thinks she wouldn’t be ready to ascend the throne.

Joel: ...Are you sure he’s going to help us?

Rez: If we corner him? Sure.

[ Joel and Kira both share a look. ]

Joel: ...Find us a way to the throne room.

 

We cut to the H.F.F fleet, rendezvousing near a Kepler star as we see Packer walking out to a balcony from his office and seeing the hundreds of thousands of soldiers below him waiting for his announcement. He is broadcasted to every ship in the fleet where we see civilians gathering in squares, restaurants, bars, offices all waiting for him to make a speech. Lucina is in the command center of the Milky Way doing the same. Barks chooses not to watch, instead telling Kira he’s heading to Seyfert to try and talk Helms out of the invasion. Packer is given a podium and a microphone, and takes a deep breath from his tube so he can last the whole speech.

 

Packer: Twenty years, we have all been afraid. Twenty years, we have sat and watched as brave men and women gave their lives to defend us from an enemy who knows no mercy or compassion! I stand before you to announce, that whether you are human… or alien… you are all part of the human race on this very day! The day we fight back! The day we show that we fear them no longer! All ships of the H.F.F… Hoag, Milky Way, Seyfert, Pinwheel, Sunflower, Mayall… today, you all stand united as one: ONE ANDROMEDA!

[ crowd cheers ]

Packer: And you will descend upon those cockroaches’ planet, and you will show them what no compassion or mercy brings! You will step in line towards their capital, face them at their door, and prove once and for all that you are the superior species!

[ crowd cheers some more ]

Packer: And do not let their faces of anguish fool you… that is only a part of their deceit! It has claimed some of us already… some of our greatest… but learn from their mistakes! Do not stop! Do not look back! DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK UNTIL YOU HAVE AVENGED ANDROMEDA AND BURNED THEIR WRETCHED HOMEWORLD TO ITS CORE!!!

 

All the soldiers standing before Packer erupt in rapturous cheers. Elsewhere, mainly among civilians, a growing concern brews among them. We see Lucina reacting in numb to the end of the speech.

 

Packer walks back into his office and we see Tamara there, strapped to a chair, shaking, quivering, wailing, almost choking on her own tears...

 

Packer: How’d you like my speech? It had to go through a few passes, but I think I did alright.

Tamara: Please… please… [ chokes ] You don't have to do this…

Packer: You have to understand, your highness… you made us into this. You have none to blame but yourself!

 

Packer turns to look out his window, seeing through the video feeds the six ships preparing for hyperdrive protocol.

 

Back on Khouga, Te’Chek sits on his throne, letting out a cough every now and then, when suddenly two humans, two robots and a Scavenger walk into a bar- I mean burst through the roof and drop down in front of a startled Te’Chek and his servants. Rez and Reese use their combined strengths to shove as much available furniture as they can to block the door preventing any guards outside from getting in.

 

Te’Chek: (H-How did you get in here?!)

Joel: Are you asking how we got here? It’s a long story, your highness!

Kira: We came here through the sewer lines…

Joel: ...Kira, you ruined my big moment!

Kira: I just had to wade through gallons of their SHIT, Joel! You expect me to stay quiet about it?! [ shudders ]

Rez: (My king, we need your ship! Your daughter’s been captured!)

Te’Chek: (...What?)

Rez: (The human federation is about to attack our planet and they’re holding Ta hostage, we need to-)

Te’Chek: [ rises out of his chair ] (I knew it! I KNEW IT! Your arrival only spelled doom for Khouga!!)

Rez: (My king, wait, listen to me!)

Kira: Uhh, he looks kinda mad…

[ Te’Chek points his cane to a startled Joel. ]

Te’Chek: YOUR KIND HAS ONLY TO BROUGHT MISERY TO MY PEOPL-

 

Te’Chek begins coughing profusely, almost starting to choke on himself. He has his servants hand him water to quench his throat with and he slumps back into his throne, almost at the verge of passing out.

 

Joel: ...So you do speak human?

Te’Chek: [ pants ] Why would I ever help you, human?!

Joel: ...Because I am in love with your daughter, sir.

Te’Chek: What?!

Kira: Whoah! Little early on the bird, aren’t you, Joel?!

Reese: [ gasp ]

[ Te’Chek turns to look at Rez ]

Rez: ...I don’t wish to marry your daughter, my king. But I know Joel here would give his life for her… And he would give his life to save this world and his own.

Te’Chek: No… No! It’s forbidden! She can’t- [ coughs more ]

[ Te’Chek slumps off his throne and lies down on the floor. He realizes the disease is catching up to him. ]

Te’Chek: ...Does she love you back?

[ Joel shows him the amulet as proof. ]

Te’Chek: I… I never thought… Her mother wanted peace with your kind too. I didn’t listen to her then, and I didn’t listen to Ta now. Maybe I should have… What do you want from me?

Joel: From you? All I need from you is a ship with hyperdrive capability. We’ll take the rest from there.

Te’Chek: They will blow you out of the sky…

Rez: Yeah, I don’t think the detectors are gonna take to us kindly.

Kira: Don’t worry, Rez. We have an exit route.

[ They hear Te’Chek’s guards are about to break through the door. Te’Chek remotely opens the hidden door to his private hangar bay. ]

Te’Chek: ...Take my ship. Save Ta. Save her world. Save your own.

Joel: [ turns to his friends ] ...You heard him. Let’s go.

Kira: One more thing, your highness… do you still have T-Bot’s power source?

 

They enter the hidden room and find Te’Chek’s ship, which has its own indoor runway allowing them to depart directly from there. Kira is handed T-Bot’s old power source which Reese uses to plug back into T-Bot activating him again (as thanks he complains that he was starting to get used to the new batteries). Scavenger guards burst in as they thrust the ship out from the castle and speeds ahead to the eternal storm. It doesn’t take long for them to reach it, and Rez shows immediate concern, asking Joel if he knows what he’s doing. Joel doesn’t really give an assuring answer. They enter the storm and remembering before Joel asks Rez to let of the controls and let the storm guide them. Rez protests loudly at first, but seeing the determined faces of everyone else he agrees to do it. The ship shakes violently and like before the lights go out, only to come back on again as they’re launched from the storm into outer space. Now free from Khouga’s atmosphere, they discuss their tactics on how to stop the invasion and save Tamara.

 

Joel: There’s probably going to be a million soldiers between us and Tamara.

Rez: Then we’ll just have to fight a million of them. ...I’ve always wanted to see the H.F.F, preferably under less tension-filled times.

Kira: We’re coming up on Kepler-184...

Joel: ...You’re all ready to do this, then?

Kira: [ nods ]

Rez: [ cocks his head to the side and nods ]

Reese: [ assuring ]

T-Bot: ...Well I’m just a tiny space rover, it’s not like I got anything better to do.

Joel: ...Alright. ...Just hold on, Tamara.

 

Joel is about to engage hyperdrive when out of the blue Milky Way, Seyfert, Sunflower, Mayall, Pinwheel and Hoag all warp to their location close to the star. “Woah, what the hell?!” Joel shouts before their ship is forced to duck (or whatever the equivalent to that would be since there’s really no up or down in space) under the incoming behemoths. T-Bot suddenly receives another message, this time from Henry.

 

Joel: Henry, what the hell’s going on?!

Henry: The vote went through, Joel! Packer’s about to kamikaze the entire fleet on K-184d!

Reese: [ worried ]

Joel: ...Shit! Patch me to the commander!

[ Henry patches him to Barks. ]

Joel: Dad, what happened?!

Barks: Lucina and I tried to convince Helms… Joel, I’m sorry.

 

Joel is quiet. He looks at Kira and they both share a look of anguish and terror. Down on Khouga, citizens look up at the sky to see tiny black dots circle the sun while Te’Chek is informed of the fleet’s arrival. When asked what they should do, he goes quiet, much to his advisors’ concern. We cut to Hoag, specifically Packer’s office, where Packer is staring out his window overlooking the vast human army preparing for battle below. A bruised and beaten Tamara sits behind him strapped to a chair.

 

The six ships all enter alignment. Packer contacts each of their respective captains and tells them to ready their respective armies for deployment. Barks tries get through to Helms, begging him not to go through Packer’s orders. Helms avoids making eye contact with him. Lucina meanwhile keeps the Milky Way at a bit of a distance, but she too sees the vast army gathering before her. She ponders for a bit, then pulls out a gun and shoves it in the face of her first lieutenant. Other officers draw out their guns at her but they too have firearms aimed at by crew members loyal to Lucina, leading to a standoff.

 

Lucina: Get her out of here. NOW.

Lieutenant: But… admiral’s orders…

Lucina: Fuck admiral’s orders! You’re engaging hyperdrive protocol, now!

[ With the officers aiming their guns at her outnumbered, they lower their weapons. ]

Lieutenant: ...But-

Lucina: NOW, LIEUTENANT!!!

 

The frightened lieutenant leans over to the control pad and breaks Milky Way away from the alignment. Kira, Joel, Rez and the robots see Milky Way moving out of the way and cheer for Lucina. Barks sees this too and breathes a sigh of relief for her. Packer, enraged, enters a code on his computer. Up on the command center, Hoag’s commander is speaking to a few officers about Milky Way bailing when they the massive cannons behind them suddenly start moving on their own.

 

Commander: Wait, who’s taking control of the cannons? I didn’t give any orders!

Officer: [ looks at a tablet ] I-I don’t know, I can’t see any input on the log...

 

The commander’s eyes widen as he and everyone else realize the cannons are aiming in the direction of Milky Way.

 

Commander: Halt the cannons! Halt them!

First Lieutenant: I’m trying sir, but it won’t let me! It’s like it has a mind of its own!

Commander: Enter system override! DO IT!!

[ The lieutenant attempts to override the system, only to be greeted by a message on the front screen reading “override denied”. Packer appears through a feed which is also displayed to the people on board the other ships. ]

Packer: ...Today... you will all be taught a lesson in what happens when you defy my command.

[ Cut to Packer directly with a horrified Tamara looking on behind him. ]

Packer: ...I’ve always hated that ship.

 

The Hoag’s cannons fire at Milky Way just as it’s about to engage into hyperdrive, striking it on starboard side and causing significant damage to the starboard engine. Lucina is jolted from her chair and tremors erupt all over the ship. The starboard engine breaks down completely and the portside engine is jolted out of alignment by the failed hyperdrive attempt. Milky Way, now without either engine functioning, plummets downwards. Packer turns back to the rest of the fleet, announcing that anyone attempting to rescue Milky Way will meet the same fate. The commander decides he’s had enough and rushes to confront Packer, only to be surrounded by guards and pinned to the floor while they hold the rest of the command center hostage. Barks, seeing Milky Way in great danger, tries to get through a stumped Helms one more time.

 

Barks: She’s going to break herself apart if we don’t do something! Helms, I need you to defer Seyfert to Milky Way, NOW!!

Helms: ...I...I don’t know if I can do that. The Hoag’s cannons are too strong, Seyfert wouldn’t survive a close-range fire...

Barks: So you’re just gonna leave them to die?!

Helms: Nobody else’s daring to fight back… Forgive me, Barks.

 

Barks shakes his head in strong condemnation at Helms, who hangs his own head in shame. Joel and Kira are too left speechless by what Packer had just done. Henry gets in touch with them again and reveals that Packer forced him to develop a code that would override all of Hoag’s control systems, giving him full control of the ship from his office computer. He didn’t think Packer would actually be crazy enough to actually do what he just did, though.

 

Joel: The Pallasyne’s removed all semblance of sanity left in him. All we can do now is figure out a way to stop that code…

Kira: Henry, can’t you hack into his server and take back control?!

Henry: It’ll take too long! The fastest way would be to shut it down from his computer!

Rez: I take it that means we gotta find our way to his office...

Kira: Hoag is reinforced from all sides, we can’t just ram our way in there!

Reese: [ idea ]

T-Bot: What?! You can’t be serious!

Joel: What did he say?!

Reese: [ explain ]

T-Bot: NO!! I’m not doing it! It’d be suicide!

Joel: Just explain what the hell he’s talking about!

Henry: He wants you to launch him and T-Bot at the ship so they can take out the cannons with the EMP!

Rez: ...That’s actually not a bad plan.

T-Bot: WHAT?!

Kira: There’s an exhaust port right next to the starboard cannons. If the EMP forces it open it would be our way in…

Joel: Everyone who’s not a robot, put on a suit and buckle up!

T-Bot: No, I didn’t agree to thi- [ Reese lifts him up ] Hey! HEY!! Put me down!

[ Joel, Kira and Rez strap on their spacesuits and secure themselves. ]

Henry: Are absolutely sure about this, Joel?!

Joel: ...Not really, no.

 

Joel shoots at the cockpit window causing T-Bot and Reese to get sucked into space, T-Bot screaming “I HATE YOU FLESHLIIiin…” as the two vanish. The two robots fly across space towards Hoag at high speed and T-Bot blasts his EMP just as they fly past the cannons, shutting them down and opening the nearby hatch.The two robots continue flying past until they slam right into the tail end of the ship, humorously causing a Reese-sized shape to appear on the hull.

 

Helms and Barks detect that the Hoag’s cannons are suddenly out of order and they get a call from Joel and Kira telling them they’ve managed to shut down the cannons if temporarily. At that moment, Helms suddenly changes his mind and orders for Seyfert to pursue the crumbling Milky Way while the Hoag’s cannons are still out. Barks is stunned by Helms’ turn.

 

Helms: ...I let my own resentment blind myself from the truth and innocent lives are being lost because of it. I’m done letting it push me around.

Barks: [ gives a warm smile ] That’s all I ever wanted to hear from you.

 

Milky Way continues its tailspin as the city descends into complete chaos. Lucina regains her footing even as her crew are sliding around, and she’s contacted by Helms and Barks telling her they’re on their way. She tells them back she’s glad to hear that, but without at least one of the engines still running the magnets won’t be able to keep Milky Way afloat on their own. That’s when she’s informed that the port side engine is only out of alignment and not destroyed, and getting it back into place would get it working again. She orders one of her loyal officers to take the wheel while she makes her way to the engine port. Barks tries to stop her, remembering what happened to Captain Mannheim way back at the beginning, but he’s too late.

 

Joel, Kira and Rez fly through the exhaust hatch and burst their way into the port, only to be greeted by H.F.F soldiers firing at them. Their ship takes damage and they’re forced to crash land a few yards away. They get out and see Packer’s tower near the exact center of the ship, at least a mile away. They quickly find themselves being fired at again as they head their way towards Packer’s tower.

 

Reese and T-Bot make their way inside through a minor exhaust hatch in the back (T-Bot blasting another EMP to pry it open). They find themselves in the tail end of the starboard engine were the intense heat is emanating, but of course being robots and not humans they simply shrug it off. T-Bot sees what he thinks are the wires leading to the cannons ending here, and he tells Reese to cut them loose. Suddenly a strange liquid sprays out, and that’s what they find out those aren’t the wires to the cannons, but rather the fuel pipes.

 

T-Bot: ...Let’s just say that was an accident and keep going, eh?

[ The fuel starts spraying all over the place. ]

T-Bot: ...Or maybe we should try and fix that.

Reese: [ agreement ]

 

Packer, waiting for the cannons to be back in operation, sees surveillance footage of Joel and Kira entering through the hatch and he menacingly turns back to Tamara.

 

Packer: ...He’s coming for you.

Tamara: Then let him. You’re already turning your own people against you. The moment you fired your cannons, you lost.

Packer: None of this is about winning or losing. It’s about finding closure.

Tamara: There is no closure for this but your own downfall!

 

Tamara attempts to headbutt him, only for it to backfire on her for his skin has become as hard as steel. She and the chair topple over and Packer grabs her by the throat. He’s stopped from choking her by him coughing some more, spitting some of his blood in Tamara’s face. He realises his canister is out of oxygen plus his condition is getting worse and worse, so he walks over and watches Milky Way descending in flames on the video feed, visually resembling that of Andromeda. At that point he also gets a message saying that the cannons are back up and running.

 

Packer: ...I have seen the kingdom of heaven fall from the sky. I have seen hope itself die… and left only with despair. I have seen a darkness consuming us all, and instead of guiding them to the light… I only strayed them further.

[ Packer brings up a new breathing tube, much thicker than his previous one. ]

Packer: But do not misunderstand me, princess, for I hold no regret. For as the kingdom crumbled...

[ He straps it on, covering the lower half of his face. ]

Packer: ...I knew the lord would no longer be with me. And so the only destiny left was my own.

[ Packer replaces his old canister with a new one. ]

Packer: And with you as my witness… If it all has to burn… Then I shall be the first…

[ He slowly turns to reveal his new appearance to a frightened Tamara. ]

Packer: ...To light the fire.

 

Packer steers the cannons and fires at Seyfert, piercing through it and causing irreparable damage to both engines. Both Barks and Helms are jolted back, as Barks begins reliving the nightmare from twenty years ago when he sees that the engines are completely wrecked. Seyfert begins joining Milky Way in their descent. Seeing this and realizing that they can’t live under fear of retaliation from Packer any longer, the other three captains call on their respective crews to speed towards the sinking ships and attempt to rescue both of them, hoping them all three defying Packer’s orders at the same time would throw them off. Packer does attempt to aim the cannons at them, but with T-Bot and Reese cutting the fuel lines Hoag runs out of power and to save fuel the cannons are deactivated by automation.  The captains all call to Barks and Helms telling them they’re on their way.

 

Barks: Took you all long enough!

Hemphill: Do you want our help or do you want to stand around being snarky about it?!

Helms: It’s too late… both of our engines are gone, the magnets aren’t going to help us…

Barks: Well maybe if we keep the ship out of any celestial body’s gravitational pull we still could-

[ Barks stops as his eyes widen and he freezes up in terror, gazing at what’s in front of them. ]

Barks: ...Oh my god.

Helms: What is it?! [ turns and sees what Barks sees ] ...Oh, that’s not good...

 

Cut outside to show Seyfert and Milky both descending towards Khouga. Down on the planet the capital’s inhabitants walk outside to see both ships approaching their atmosphere.

 

Helms: Lieutenant, what’s our trajectory?!

Lieutenant: If the data’s correct, sir, both Seyfert and Milky Way are heading for an impact zone within a hundred mile radius of the K-184d capital. At our current speed, even if Seyfert or Milky Way were miss the capital by that distance the impact would be equivalent of a two-hundred megaton nuke and still take the city with it...

Barks: Packer turned us into meteorites…

Helms: D-did he plan that?!

Barks: Could have been a devil of a coincidence for all I care, but we have to abandon ship!

Helms: …If one of us stays behind and keeps the emergency thrusters going, we could slow the ship down long enough so the impact wouldn’t take the city with it.

Barks: W-w-WHAT?! I’m not letting you stay here!

Helms: She’s my ship and my responsibility, Barks… I have to do this.

Barks: ...Get everyone to escape pods and meet me there before you go through with this.

 

Down on Khouga, people start to get worried as they see the two ships coming and closer. Te’Chek is approached by his intelligence officers who inform him that they saw everything that went down up there from the observatory, telling him how the humans mysteriously began firing at each other. Te’Chek, not even able to stand up by point due to his sickness, holds the piece of Tamara’s garment in his hand and makes a call his officers did not expect.

 

Te’Chek: (Launch every available ship!)

Officer: (To blow them out of the sky, my king?)

Te’Chek: (No. Save as many of them on those burning ships as you can...)

Officer #2: (What?! My liege, you can’t be serious...)

Te’Chek: (MY DAUGHTER IS UP THERE!!)

Officer #2: (...)

Officer #1: (...My liege, we can’t just…)

Te’Chek: (Listen to your king. As my dying wish… save them.)

 

The two officers look at each other and we then cut to Lucina speeding towards Milky Way’s engine bay when the artificial gravity generator begins malfunctioning thanks to the engine fault, causing her and everybody else on the ship to start sliding sideways as the ship tilts turning previously safe city streets into the dangerous slopes. The slope gets steeper and steeper by the minute, leaving her to leap across traffic poles and run on slanting walls before having to duck under a hover truck tumbling in her direction. She does manage to reach the engine bay but by that point the ship has tilted a full forty-five degrees. She tells her subordinate officers to open up the engine hatch and despite their protestations they follow her orders. She climbs inside and sees that the fan is thrown out of alignment so it has trouble spinning and leading to the engine immediately overheating. She can’t tell the people outside to shut down the engine while she’s inside for otherwise the fan may never spin again. She treads carefully up to it, climbs her way up and kicks it repeatedly for that seems to solve things around here. Milky Way continues its plunge as Lucina repeatedly kicks the fan over and over, but nothing happens. The ship quickly approaches the point where it can’t escape Khouga’s gravitational pull but at the last possible second Lucina in all her strength kicks the fan so it lodges into place and starts spinning again. Lucina’s moment of relief is cut short when she remembers that if she doesn’t escape the hatch immediately she’s going to be blown into the now violently spinning fan and shredded into a million pieces. She escapes the hatch just in time for the gravity generator to start working again allowing the city to right itself up. Milky Way manages to stay afloat long enough for Pinwheel, Mayall and Sunflower to pull it away from the planet with their magnets. As Lucina runs out to the observation deck to catch her breath, she sees to her horror Seyfert flying past her and entering the atmosphere.

 

Joel, Kira and Rez continue creating a path for themselves towards Packer’s tower, Rez throwing a few highly explosive grenades at their pursuer blowing a small tower up and topple it in the soldier’s path blocking them from pursuing the three further. The two robots meanwhile are up to their feet in fuel as they find themselves cornered by H.F.F soldiers.

 

T-Bot: Uh… anyone got any tape to fix that leak? We swear, we had nothing to do with that!

Reese: [ judge ]

T-Bot: What do you mean it’s my fault?! You’re the one who cut the pipe!

 

Barks and Helms meanwhile make their way to the escape pods but finds that Packer’s cannon fire have destroyed many of them. Seeing all the panicking people (and aliens) behind them trying to get to the escape pods they look at each other pondering for a long time what to do. But help arrives in an unexpected form as several hundred Khouga flyers ascend towards the plunging ship and attach themselves to its side. The people on board try to run away from the Scavengers at first thinking they’re here to kill them but once they discover they’re there to help they quickly change their tune.

 

Helms: ...Never in my in life did I think I’d see this.

Barks: She really wanted to change her world for the better.

 

Once all the survivors are cleared and the Scavenger ships depart the two approach the last escape pod as Barks turns back to Helms.

 

Barks: ...Humanity will need you more than they need me after this.

Helms: I’m an aging ship captain. How much do they really need me? [ light chuckle ]

Barks: … … ...Forgive me for this, Radian.

 

Barks grabs Helms by the coat and throws him into the escape pod, then locks the hatch.

 

Helms: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!

Barks: I can’t let you go through with this. I can’t let anyone go through with this…

Helms: Jonathan, open this hatch, right now!!

Barks: I failed to save Andromeda and we may not be able to save Seyfert… But I’m not gonna fail to save Tamara’s people.

Helms: Jonathan… open the hatch… please…

Barks: ...Tell Joel and Kira I’ve never been more proud of them…

[ Barks disengages the pod, launching Helms into space. ]

Helms: JONATHAAAaan….

 

Barks is left alone on the burning wreckage. He walks back to the command center watching the city crumble around him. He reaches the command center and sinks into the captain chair, engaging the emergency thrusters as Seyfert slows its descent. He locates Joel and Kira’s frequency and makes a call.

 

Our three main heroes reach Packer’s tower and sees one window still lit on the top floor, assuming it must be his office. They ascend the stairs finding no resisting forces left when they get a call from Lucina, who tells them Milky Way’s secure. When they ask about Seyfert, Lucina, quite concerningly, says she doesn’t know. That’s when a caller comes in from Seyfert, which we see is Barks. Lucina, having seen Seyfert fly past her, immediately realizes what this means.

 

Lucina: ...Oh no.

Kira: We’re in the final staircase to Packer’s office, is Seyfert safe?!

Barks: ...Yes, Kira. Yes, she is.

Lucina: [ chokes up ] ...Jonathan, why are you doing this?

Joel: W-what do you mean? [ looks at Barks ] What does she mean?!

 

Barks explains everything, leaving Joel and Kira in utter shock and dismay. He tells them that Packer was right that this wasn’t about winning or losing, but rather about attaining closure. And closure, Barks feels, is to do the one thing he failed to do when Andromeda sank and that was to fulfill a wish. In that case, it was to make sure Packer’s wife and child came home safe. In this case, it’s to give his life to fulfill Tamara’s dream.

 

Barks: She’s waiting for you, Joel. Be there for her.

Joel: I… [ tears up ] I don’t know if I can…

Barks: I know you can. I know you both can.

 

Barks’ feed cuts off, leaving Joel and Kira to sulk for a moment. Rez hears H.F.F soldiers ascending the stairs many floors down, so he tells the two he’ll take care of it while they confront Packer.

 

Joel and Kira open the door to Packer’s office. Packer stands by the window in his pitch dark room, all alone. The two enter, both having their respective weapons facing him. Packer calmly takes out another bottle of the brandy Lucina had earlier.

 

Packer: ...Care for a drink?

Joel: Where is she?

 

Packer nods to a dark corner on the opposite side of the room where Tamara can be barely seen lying on the ground softly sobbing. Kira runs over and frees her, receiving a tight hug in return. She hands Tamara back her amulet, Tamara relieved to know them both came back for her. Relieved to know Tamara’s okay, Joel turns back to Packer.

 

Joel: It’s over, admiral. Either you resign and face the charges of the attempted murder of millions of people… and the actual murders of a few… Or I’ll have to kill you right here.

Packer: …

Joel: The Pallasyne’s made you insane. There’s nothing we can do to help you. Just admit it’s over.

Packer: ...On the contrary, Joel. I’ve been thinking clearly for a while now.

 

Packer slams his foot in the ground, causing the entire floor to crack open. Several floors down Rez feels the tremors shaking the whole building, but he can’t think much about that now because soldiers are charging at him.

 

Upstairs, the floor continues to crack as the three watch Packer begin twitching.

 

Packer: You feel that, Joel? The capabilities of the Pallasyne. How it turns you into something greater than yourself…

Joel: But you lose yourself to it, Packer! It’s taking over you!

Packer: Yes… But now that you’ve denied me my destiny… Giving in to the rage… Is rather comforting… Especially when you’ve built it up for twenty years…

Joel: Stand back! Or we’ll shoot!

Tamara: Joel, DON’T!!

Packer: ...Try me.

 

Packer makes a mad dash at Joel and shoves his face in the wall while simultaneously whacking Kira across the room. Tamara cowers and watches in horror as Joel himself loses control, making those terrifying screams while Packer presses his face against the wall with a psychotic grin.

 

Packer: Yes… give in… GIVE IN!!

Joel: [ muffled screams ]

Packer: Show me that potential… SHOW ME THE BEAST!!!

 

Joel pushes Packer away and in his blind rage fights back, the two trading brutal punches (as brutal as PG-13 would allow, anyway) while Tamara tries to help a dizzy Kira back on her feet. She aks Kira if she still has one of those dosers but Kira reveals they only have one left. They see Packer slamming Joel’s head against the glass desk, slide it across it and then throw Joel through the wall into the next room. Kira grabs the doser and attempts to use it on Packer rather than Joel, but injecting all of the liquid seems to do nothing to him, indicating he’s so far gone nothing can bring him back now. Packer instead slams Kira to the ground by the throat and begins choking her.

 

Reese and T-Bot are lead out of the engine room by the H.F.F soldiers capturing them. Reese sees the fuel continue to leak inside. He leans to T-Bot who he’s holding in his arm.

 

Reese: [ idea ]

T-Bot: ...What?!

Reese: [ explain ]

T-Bot: No. Uh uh. Nein! Nyet! Nixta! If your ideas haven’t killed us before THIS certainly will!

Soldier: Stop talking and keep moving!

Reese: [ insistence ]

T-Bot: You are playing with fire, Reese! LITERALLY!!

Soldier: I said you two shut up!

Reese: [ further insistence ]

Soldier: SHUT UP! OR I’LL DUMP YOU BOTH IN THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL!

[ T-Bot notices that they are right next to the garbage disposal. ]

T-Bot: ...Okay.

 

T-Bot reluctantly blasts another EMP which directly hits the engine and causes an electrical current which lights the fuel on fire. Reese and T-Bot drop themselves into the garbage disposal while the engine bay is engulfed in flames and a massive fireball can be seen both inside and outside. The resulting tremors and shockwave combines with the cracks he made earlier causes Packer’s tower to split into two, forcing Rez to jump to the side and watch several of the soldiers he fought fall to their deaths. Tamara is also separated from the others but the explosion distracts Packer from choking Kira allowing her to grab her gun and shoot Packer in the face multiple times at point blank…

 

Only, Packer turns back at her showing the bullets barely touching his skin as if she shot him with leaves. Every single bullet drops to the floor. Packer kicks Kira which sends her flying again, striking a pillar on the opposing side of the crumbling tower.

 

Tamara can only look on as Packer continues to pummel Joel into submission. A bloodied Joel falls to the ground. Packer removes his tube briefly to look down on Joel.

 

Packer: Hmm… Guess that potential was overhyped after all…

Joel: [ wincing in pain ]

Packer: You were seduced by her, you gave up your calling for her… and for what? So you could abandon your nation and embarrass yourself in front of me?

[ Packer kicks Joel in the stomach. ]

Packer: And now… look at what you and your degenerates have done.

Joel: [ spits blood ] I’m not the one… who did all this.

Packer: You forced my hand. [ strikes Joel in the face ] It made me realize one thing though… it all has to go down in flames. Fitting, then.

 

Packer straps his tube back on before stomping his boot on Joel’s hand, crushing it while Joel screams in pain. Tamara, meanwhile, sees the black strains engulfing the both of them and comes to a realization. She flashes back to two particular moments: her mother’s death and Valden’s suicide. She begins remembering his exact words.

 

Valden: If you really want to know... look around you.

 

That some gunshot rings and Valden’s blood sprays across those same flowers. “The flowers...” Tamara whispers to herself back in the present. She remembers that her mother placed one of those flowers in her amulet to remember her by. She sees the empty doser on the ground and realizing what she has to do, she pleads to her mother’s spirit for forgiveness before crushing the amulet, removing said flower, pounding it to dust and mixing it with the syringe. She discovers however that the two sides of the crumbling tower are drifting further apart, and there’s no way she’d make the jump. But she knows someone who can. She finds Kira unconscious behind some rubble and tries to revive her. She succeeds and tells Kira she has to make the jump and inject the syringe in Packer’s neck for the purified essence from the flower will be enough to make the toxin spread rapidly enough to bring him down once and for all. Kira asks how the hell she knows this and Tamara tells her just to trust her. Kira grabs the syringe and makes the leap without a second thought. She barely makes it, saved by a support beam which happens to stick out. As Packer grabs Joel’s skull and attempts to crush it, he’s called at by Kira, standing behind him clearly displaying the syringe in her hand. Packer drops Joel.

 

Kira: ...Oh what, can’t hit a girl?

 

Packer swings at Kira, who dodges the attack during a slow-motion take. She slides under him and latches onto his back and stabs the syringe into his neck. Packer responds by grabbing Kira and throwing her against a concrete pillar. He turns back to Joel and continues the violent beating, but just as Packer is about to deliver the final blow to Joel, he stops. He starts wincing in pain, clutching his chest as his body starts to shake. It feels like something with the weight of an elephant is crushing his organs. He rips open his uniform to reveal that the poison has spread to his heart. He stumbles around, fumbling for his breathing tube while Joel and Kira just lie there dumbfounded as to what’s happening. Packer manages to get ahold of his tube and tries to breath through it, but finds it to be to no avail and he starts to choke. He clenches his chest again, almost like he’s going into cardiac arrest. Kira gets up and stumbles over to a bruised and bloodied Joel before Packer finds his gun and in a last desperate move aims it at them both. Tamara, helpless to stop it, pleads at him from across the gap not to do it. Something stops him from firing though; the framing from his perspective makes Kira holding Joel look like a mother holding on to her child. He drops the gun, falls backwards and plunges down the seemingly endless pit.

 

The two halves of the tower stop drifting apart and Kira grabs a loose steel beam to make a makeshift bridge for Tamara to cross. Tamara goes to embrace Joel just before he passes out. She and Kira see Joel’s black strain having grown longer than ever before as a result of the battle, but both choose not to say anything as Kira attempts to collect her breath. We cut to Barks, having successfully steered Seyfert away from the capital and slowed its descent enough so that it wouldn’t have a large blast radius. Now slowly anticipating his and the ship’s eventual demise, he finds the ship’s communication systems are still functioning and decides to make his last call to Kira.

 

Kira: Packer’s dead… It’s over.

Barks: What about Milky Way?

Kira: Remains an unsinkable piece of shit. [ light chuckle ]

Barks: And Joel…?

Kira: [ glances back at her brother ] I don’t know. I hope he’ll make it, but… I don’t know.

Barks: ...Tell him when he wakes up I said hi.

Kira: [ sheds tears ] ...Why do you have to go?

Barks: In the end… I don’t know. Sometimes these things just happen. Don’t worry me about me, though… I’ll be fine. And I suspect you’ll be too. You want to know about your parents before I go?

Kira: I know who my dad is… [ chokes up ] His name was Jonathan Barks.

Barks: [ smiles ] ...Know that I love you both.

 

Barks opens up the port deck window to see the ground ahead of him. He sees, for the first and last time, Tamara’s valley of flowers.

 

Barks: The girl was right… it really is beautiful.

 

Seyfert just misses the flower field and rather gracefully comes to a rest in the hillside. Having seen Seyfert fly past them and crash behind the valley, now knowing his kingdom is safe, Te’Chek slumps over. Kira’s feed to her father goes dark, and she breaks down in tears. Tamara sees Kira grieving and she brings Joel closer to her so she can hold someone in her arms as the scene fades out.

 

Joel wakes up again in a hospital bed. He turns and sees both Tamara and Kira sleeping on couches on opposite ends of the bed. Barely able to even able to lift a finger, he faintly tries to sing the lyrics to Bee Gees “How Deep is Your Life” to her hoping to wake her up. She does and she immediately embraces Joel, who winces in pain a bit from the embrace but hugs her back. Kira wakes up too, giving her brother a warm smile. When Joel faintly asks for his father, her face quickly changes and a few tears come out. She wraps her arms around Joel as he too soon succumbs to the grief.

 

We get a montage of the results of the battle:

- The Packer loyalists are captured as the now freed commander of the Hoag watches them all be huddled onto interment ships.

- Henry is reunited with his robots and is seen patching up Reese, fixing some of the battle damage he had received.

- The Milky Way is kept afloat and repair work immediately begins all over the city and to get the starboard engine back up and running.

- The three captains of Pinwheel, Sunflower and Mayall all receive reprimand for not acting when they should’ve, but also thanked for saving Milky Way once they did decide to act.

 

Once the montage ends, we cut to Barks’ funeral. There is no coffin, but they have memorabilia and flowers placed in a small pod along with a photo of a younger Barks sitting in the captain’s chair on Andromeda, smiling. Kira asks where Lucina even found the photograph, and Lucina replies saying it’s just something Barks had carried with him for a long time. The pod is shot into space and set ablaze using the Milky Way’s thrusters in a viking-style funeral pyre, spreading the pod’s ashes across space. The same is done to thousands of pods launching out of the five ships. We cut to Joel and Kira’s reaction to the pyre.

 

Joel: In the end I think father got what he wanted. Closure.

[ Kira sees the strains on Joel, reaching down his arm. ]

Kira: Isn’t that what we all want, ultimately?

Joel: I guess. But there are a few things we still have to do.

 

We cut to Helms’ and Lucina’s reactions to the pyre, Helms showing guilt over letting Barks sacrifice himself for him and everyone on Seyfert.

 

Lucina: I heard there’s an opening for the admiral’s seat. They’re holding a snap election.

Helms: ...You know anyone who’s signed for it? [ turns to Lucina ] You interested?

Lucina: ...Nah. Milky Way still needs me. But I know someone I can recommend. [ nods back at Helms. ]

 

Cut to Helms’ reaction to Lucina’s suggestion. She walks away, leaving him to ponder. We also see Isla again, walking out of her school to see her receive a body the H.F.F chose to donate to her research. A handwritten note from Joel reads saying that the person he gave her may not have been able to save himself in life, but he may be able to save many others in death. She removes the sheet to reveal Packer’s body, the Pallasyne strains covering him from tip to toe.

 

Down on Khouga, people see the five remaining ships approaching their atmosphere, but instead of fearing their arrival they await them with great anticipation. Small ships are sent out and land in front of the city. There stands an ambassador for the Scavengers, since Te’Chek is unable to attend due to have fallen bedside, waiting as the first H.F.F ship lands in front of him. Out steps Helms and Lucina, followed by Hebert, Juan and Hemphill. The five captains walk up to the one ambassador, and with a little nudging from Lucina Helms is the first to reach his hand out to him. The ambassador appears reluctant, but reaches out and shakes his hand. The same is done with Hebert, Juan and Hemphill, until the ambassador gets to Lucina who responds by hugging him to his confusion but eventual acceptance.

 

Ships fly past the capital and visit the remains of both Seyfert and Andromeda. The Khougans look on as humans and aliens from all across the universe come to and pay their respects for the deceased, both of the recent and far past. The five captains are asked if the parts remaining of both could be salvaged to build a new ship, and the five all ponder over it. They begin an argument amongst themselves, spurring disagreements over anything from the ship’s name to something as small as what color should the table cloth at the command dining room have.

 

We cut to Tamara at her father’s deathbed. Te’Chek tells her he regretted having ignored her all these years and wished she could’ve been a better father to her like her mother always wanted him to be.

 

Te’Chek: ...Where is the amulet?

Tamara: I broke it. I took the flower from it to save Joel...

Te’Chek: Oh… shame… Your mother wanted you to wear it the day you marry.

[ Te’Chek tries to lift his hand to caress Tamara’s cheek but struggles to reach, but Tamara helps him out. ]

Te’Chek: Be there for your people, Ta. Guide them to love… not to fear like I did.

Tamara: [ smiles but sheds a tear ] I will, father. …I love you.

Te’Chek: I love you too, Ta…

 

Tamara feels her father’s hand go lifeless, and she mourns him in quiet while Joel looks on from the bedroom door, eventually walking up to her and comforting her.

 

The day of Tamara’s coronation comes. She stands in a backroom with Joel, Kira, Rez, the robots, Henry, Lucina and Helms and prepares herself to walk out to the crowd mixed with humans and Khougans waiting for her.

 

Tamara: [ peeks out the door ] I...I don’t know if I can do this…

Helms: Hold yourself up, princess. Stage fright is something I myself had to grapple a lot with when I was younger.

Lucina: ...Really?

Helms: ...My high school years were a difficult time, Lucina.

Kira: Just act natural, Tam! You’re not little princess Ta anymore!

Reese: [ assuring ]

T-Bot: Just so you know, I’m going to record all of this to capture the embarrassment!

Henry: Oh no, you don’t! [ reaches into his pocket to find it empty ] Hey, where’s the remote?!

T-Bot: You were looking for this? [ holds the remote ]

Henry: Give it back, T!

[ T-Bot drops the remote to the floor and rolls over it, crushing it ]

T-Bot: ...Oopsie!

Henry: Just for that, you’re not getting any siblings!

T-Bot: Thank the almighty! [ points at Joel and Kira ] I have enough of fleshlings one and two over here, I don’t need more siblings in my life!

Joel: Tamara… just breathe. You’ll do fine.

Tamara: Okay… here goes nothing.

 

Tamara steps out to the crowd and the coronation goes through smoothly with all the major surviving characters in attendance. At the end of her coronation, Tamara gives a speech woving to not only lead her people to a brighter future, but also to have the humans and Scavengers make peace with one another, even as she admits that it’s going to be difficult with so much history between them. After her speech, she’s given high remarks by everyone but Joel takes her aside saying there’s something he needs to tell her in private. Realizing what it is, she says there’s something she needs to tell her too.

 

We cut to the two standing in the valley of flowers. Joel can see Tamara’s royal gown blowing gracefully in the wind. She invites him to sit with her as she caresses the flowers. She explains to him what she had realized about them: how they were Valden’s secret ingredient. She had never thought something so beautiful could be so destructive and cause suffering to so many. For all her life, this was her escape. But now an aura of pain and destruction haunts this place. She sees the strains on Joel, knowing the Pallasyne is slowly consuming him.

 

Tamara: ...How far will you go?

Joel: We have a possible lead on the far side of the universe. Valden wasn’t lying when he said the antidote wasn’t here.

Tamara: Isn't there a chance they could develop one for you?

Joel: I gave Isla a small batch to work on, but I don’t know how long it’ll take. In a few years I could lose myself to the toxin like Packer did. That’s why I can’t stay with you.

Tamara: … [ gently places her hand on Joel’s cheek ] Can you promise me one thing?

Joel: ...Yes?

Tamara: Promise me you’ll back. Whether you find the cure or not, you’ll come back.

Joel: ...I promise. But there’s one thing you’ll have to do for me. Something that spares future generations from our pain.

Tamara: ...Anything.

 

Joel leans in and whispers to her ear. We don’t hear what he says, but she reacts in a bit of a surprise. He leans back and she nods at him. He leans back in and they finally share a kiss, all while the wind is blowing and the flowers soothe back and forth in a certain rhythm. We cut to Joel meeting up with the others as they prepare to depart for the fleet  Kira asks if Tamara’s not coming to say goodbye, and Joel tells her she’ll say her goodbyes in due time.

 

Rez: For the first time in my life, I’m actually looking forward to come back here when all this is over. Wouldn’t you agree, Kira?

Kira: ...I swam in the sewers, Rez.

Rez: Right. ...Say, do you think captain Lucina’s assistant is available anytime soon?

Kira: [ pulls out a phone number out of her pocket ] Way ahead of ‘ya, Rez.

Rez: I’m impressed.

Lucina: I’m just gonna confiscate that… [ snatches the piece of paper from Kira’s hands ]

Kira: Hey!

Rez: No wonder you call her a Wicked Witch!

 

They board the ship and return to Milky Way, where Lucina is seen sinking back into her captain chair. Helms is standing there beside her.

 

Lucina: You need anything from me, admiral?

Helms: ...No. Just takes us out, captain.

Reese: [ looks out the window ] [ gasp ]

Henry: What is it, Reese?! [ sees the same thing ] Holy shit, are you guys seeing this?!

 

They all huddle around the window to see the valley of flowers in flames. Tamara stands there with a lighter in her hand, watching it all burn. A confused Kira turns to Joel who is seen gently smiling.

 

In the very final shot of the film, we see Tamara from behind watching as Milky Way, Pinwheel, Sunflower, Mayall and Hoag all vanish into hyperdrive.  Her gown blows in the wind, as do the ashes from the flowers.

 

THE SCAVENGER WARS